Just For the Night
by till.the.tears.stop.falling
Summary: Kurt Hummel is living alone in NYC, trying to balance schoolwork and a very minor role on Broadway. After a night of heavy drinking, he invites a stranger to spend the night in his apartment. Little does he know, his life will never be the same. AU Klaine
1. Chapter 1 The Drunk Giraffe

"FROM THE TOP."

_Again? _

"AND ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR…"

I scrambled back to my starting position for the beginning of our routine, moving through the motions mechanically. We've been doing them for two hours straight. My legs jumped between two ladders as I switched my feet and arms quickly to keep up with the beat. I let out a loud grunt from safety of my mind at the repetitiveness of the routine. My legs were on fire from all of the lunges and crouching involved in the dancing. I just wanted to fall into a nice big bubble bath where mini mermaids would massage my calves with hot rocks.

I know, I know. I'm on the Broadway stage, I should be delighted. Hell, I'm on the _Wicked_ stage, I should be bursting at the seams with contempt. But seriously, a _winged monkey_? This was the best I could do? Never in all my days at McKinley had I imagined that my first 'big break' would be landing the role of one of the rabid flying monkeys from Wicked.

Honestly, I don't even know how I got this gig. As morbid as it sounds, the monkey before me died of AIDs last month.

I just happened to be at the right New York City Starbucks at the right time and overheard one of the directors of the show saying that they had to look for another monkey. My unemployed poor theater major brain immediately took over and I practically screamed "I CAN BE YOUR MONKEY!" So I instantaneously whipped out my lemon scented handy dandy resume and presented it to them. Thank god they were feeling generous that day, or they would have never hired a sophomore in college.

But yeah, back to the AIDs thing. I'm probably putting some weird kind of sexual curse on myself by taking his spot, but this is _Broadway_. You don't give up a chance for the Broadway stage because of possible AIDs damnation.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT, FOLKS!" The choreographer yelled as the music stopped. "I WILL SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW AT FIVE."

I let out a large grunt as I collapsed on the floor. I was thankful that we weren't in full costume for rehearsals, or else the spikes in my mask would have bent on the ground.

"Not used to the lunges yet, Hummel?"

My eyes snapped open at the familiar voice of my fellow flying monkey, Jackie. I've only known her for a couple of weeks, but she's still the closest friend I have in the show.

"Sorry, I haven't developed monstrous calves yet like _some _people."

"Well hey, I've been a dancer since I was five. These legs have the force of a well-built rhino." she said, helping me up off the ground.

"Well built rhino legs…that's…creative." I said as I walked offstage. "I think I would have to be compared to some sort of midsized giraffe."

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later I was out of my leotard and wrapping a scarf around my neck. Jackie and I walked out onto 51st street from the stage door, the freezing December air immediately crashing against my face.<p>

"Ugh, this is _not_ a bubble bath." I grunted as I watched my feet trudge through the slush on the sidewalk.

"What?" Jackie said, slipping her arm through mine as we walked. Jackie was a very tangible person. She was never afraid to give an acquaintance a bone crushing hug if they looked a bit glum. I've gotten used to this and I just accept the friendly gestures when they come.

"Oh nothing."

We made our way down the stairs to get on the Subway. I scanned my metro-card and waited for Jackie before hopping on the train.

"So what're your plans for the night?" Jackie said as we held onto the metal bars of the Subway.

"Well…I was planning on spending an intimate night alone with my couch and whatever movie's playing on the 25 Days of Christmas. Why?"

"A couple of us monkeys are gonna head out for some drinks around ten, you should come!"

"Ohhh…drinks? I—err…I'm gonna pass. I was kind of looking forward to my bad Christmas movies anyway."

"Oh c'mon _Kurt_! You never come out with us. It's just a couple of drinks! And some of the other guys are dying to get to know you."

"But…but…my movies." I said with a sad whimper.

"Seriously, you're turning me down for Holiday in Handcuffs? I mean, Mario Lopez is cute and all but _seriously_?"

"Hey! Holiday in Handcuffs is an important part of my holiday season." A part of me wanted to go, but another massive part of me was yearning for the comforts of my apartment. "And I'm only 20, how am I even supposed to get in?"

"Please, you've lived in New York City for almost two years and you expect me to believe that you don't have a fake ID yet?"

Damn it.

"Okay, fine, I have one. But that doesn't mean I like to use it!"

"Oh my god, Kurt. Live a little!" I sighed and gave her an exasperated look. "Okay, okay, if you don't _have_ to go you don't want to. But the place is right near your apartment and you can leave whenever you want to."

"Where?"

"The Aura."

I looked up at the ceiling of the subway car and shut my eyes, not believing I was actually giving up a perfectly good lazy night.

"What time?"

"Oh thank you thank you thank you, Kurt!" Jackie threw her arms around me and squeezed me in for a nice tight hug. "Sometime around ten. I'll text you when I'm on my way."

"Alright, Jack, I'll see you later." I said as the train slowed down at my stop.

"Thanks Kurt. And you'll have fun, I promise. You'll be so glad you came."

* * *

><p>After my dinner of leftover sushi, I took a shower and threw a bathrobe on, trying my best not to look at the couch or the TV. I had this strange fear that if I stared at it for too long it would start calling my name and I would collapse on it and abandon my plans with my friend...again.<p>

But alas, when I went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, my eyes glanced over at the nice crocheted blanket resting on my leather couch.

"Hot boys, hot boys, think about the hot boys." I chanted to myself, closing my eyes and running back to my vanity to finish styling my hair.

I was done a little over a half an hour later. My hair looked perfect and my outfit was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. I wore tight dark denim skinny jeans, black boots, a baby blue half sleeved shirt, and a black leather jacket with a thin cotton brown scarf hanging loosely around my neck. I looked in the mirror and thought that I had the perfect mix of badass-ery and fashion.

My phone vibrated from the edge of my vanity and I did a little skip of excitement as I went to check it. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.

From: Jackie**  
>I'm in a taxi right now. I should be there in like 5. <strong>

I rode the elevator down to the bottom of my building, smiling as I sent her a text saying that I was on my way. It had gotten considerably more chilly out since late that afternoon. I slipped my hands in the pockets of my leather jacket and held it close for warmth.

The bar was about a block away from my building, which was terribly convenient. When I arrived at Aura there was a semi-long line outside the door. I got in line behind the clearly underage girls in front of me. They were giggling and kept showing each other how ridiculous their fake IDs looked.

I pulled out my wallet and looked at my own fake ID. At least I had the decency to photoshop my profile into it.

The cold started to really set in and I shifted my weight from either foot in a dull attempt to keep warm. Just when I started to feel impatient, I heard soft strumming of a guitar a few feet away from me.

_At first we started out real cool_

I looked around and saw the source of the music, a man sitting on a plastic bucket on the ground, clutching a guitar and wearing a tattered hoodie.

_Taking me places I ain't never been  
>But now you're getting comfortable<br>Ain't doing those things you did no more  
>You're slowly making me pay for things your money should be handling<em>

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Here's some homeless guy on the street, trying to get money from singing a song about an irresponsible moocher.

I turned to get a better look at him. His voice was pretty decent, and his guitar playing was pretty impressive. However, he was wearing about three layers of pants and shirts that did not match each other at all.

Well, then again he's a hobo, of course I can't expect him to color coordinate his wardrobe.

_You triflin', good for nothing type of brother  
>Silly me, why haven't I found another<br>A baller, when times get hard I need someone to help me out  
>Instead of a scrub like you who don't know what a man's about<em>

At least the homeless man has a sense of humor.

I continued to watch him sing softly, trying to analyze what he looked like from behind all the old clothes. He had this thick, heavy beard that covered half of his face and his hair was a big bushy mop on top of his head. His age was completely undeterminable.

I decided that his voice was actually really nice, and he didn't sound too old so he couldn't be any more than thirty. He played the song in a different arrangement that almost made it sound unrecognizable.

_Can you pay my bills?  
>Can you pay my telephone bills?<br>Do you pay my automo' bills?  
>If you did then maybe we could chill<br>I don't think you do  
>So, you and me are through<em>

"KURT!"

I turned around and saw Jackie jogging towards me. Her blonde hair was down and it the wind fluttered in the wind as she came near. She was wearing a denim jacket with a white cami underneath. The undershirt was tucked in at her stomach into short black skirt and the whole ensemble was topped off with black transparent leggings, brown boots, and pretty silver necklace. Her outfit was very New York-shique.

"Hey hun!"

"Jesus, its cold out!" she said, rubbing her arms.

Five minutes later, after the bouncer rejected the underage girls in front of us, we were in front of the line. I was a bit nervous, but we got in easily. Jackie spotted her friends from the show right when we walked in. Before she could get their attention, I pulled her off to the side.

"Jack, you have to promise me something." I said, putting my hands on her shoulders and making sure she heard me. "If I get smashed you cannot by any means let me do anything stupid."

"Yeah, yeah! Sure, Kurt, whatever you want." She said, waving me off and turning back around. "Hey guys! Look who's here!" Jackie led me to a table full of attractive looking men. "Kurt, this is Alec, John, Mark, and Gordon. Guys, this is Kurt."

"Good to finally meet you!" Gordon said, smiling at me warmly. I smiled back and relaxed as I sat down on an empty stool.

* * *

><p>Two hours, two mojitos and four shots later I was absolutely wasted. Jackie and I stumbled out of the club and slowly made our way down the icy sidewalk.<p>

Very, very slowly.

"Hey!" I said, "It's the singing hobo!" I pulled Jackie with me over near where the man was still playing his guitar.

_Here we go again  
>I kinda wanna be more than friends<br>So take it easy on me  
>I'm afraid you're never satisfied <em>

"He sings pretty." Jackie laughed and nuzzled into my side. The man noticed us and looked up. A quick smile appeared on his face before he looked back down at the vibrating strings of the guitar.

_Here we are again  
>I feel hypothermia kickin' in<br>It's getting colder  
>And I'm afraid I won't get out alive<br>Sleepin on these streets tonight_

"Aww Kurtie, he needs a place to stay!" The poor guy looked like he was shivering. I think I saw some frost on his scruffy beard.

"Are you sure Jackie, I mean, that bucket looks preeeetty comfortable to me."

"Don't be mean!" She retorted. "He looks so cooold." She moved away from me and closer to the man. "Hey dude! Are you cold?"

The man stopped playing and looked up at us, a sad look on his face. "V—very"

His shivering tone struck a drunken string in my heart and I whimpered at his current state. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"N—not tonight, no."

I stood there and stared at him for a moment, making a decision in my mind. "Well c'mon then! You're staying with me!"

"WHAT?" Jackie and the hobo said at the same time. I walked over to the man and tugged him up.

"C'mon! You're probably freezing your homeless ass off!" I said, beckoning him to walk with me back to my apartment.

"Kurt—what—you're actually doing this? Shouldn't I stop you from doing this?" Jackie laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"Yeah, duhh." I said, picking up the hobo's bucket.

"Oh my god, I can't believe that actually _worked_." The man with the beard said to himself. "Thank you so much, sir."

"Sure!" I said as I began walking back to my apartment.

"Wha—well-I'm just gonna go home then. You two have fun!" Jackie said before trudging in the other direction.

"SOOOOO…" I said during the seemingly awkward silence as we walked down the icy sidewalk. "The name's Kurt." I smiled at the strange smelling man beside me, slightly surprised when he grinned back at me.

"Blaine."

* * *

><p><strong>Review? Pretty, pretty please?<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 Afternoon Pancakes

_I FEEL PRETTY!  
>OH SO PRETTY!<br>I FEEL PRETTY AND WITTY AND GAY!  
>AND I PITTY<br>ANY GIRL THAT ISN'T ME TODAY!_

What the hell?

I reluctantly opened my eyes, the New York sun shining straight through the blinds in my room. The light went straight to my brain and pounded on my forehead. Oh _god_ that hurt.

_I FEEL CHARMING!  
>OH SO CHARMING!<br>IT'S ALARMING HOW CHARMING I FEEL!_

"Dear god, make it stop." I mumbled, looking around my room, trying to spot my iPod. My alarm was set to wake me up to a random song instead of a blaring beat.

Remind me next time to just buy select songs off of West Side Story, and not the whole album.

_SEE THAT PRETTY GIRL IN THE MIRROR THERE?  
>WHO CAN THAT ATTRACTIVE GIRL BE?<em>

"What is that?" said a faint man's voice from the living room.

I immediately shot up in my bed, eyes wide and fear beginning to twist inside my gut, the pain in my head now the least of my worries.

"H—hello?" Maybe it was my imagination…maybe. I got out from under my sheets and grabbed the bat that I kept next to my nightstand just in case.

Anything could happen to you when you live in New York, and it's good to be prepared. Not that a bat is necessarily considered excellent protection, but hey, it's better than nothing.

_I FEEL STUNNING!  
>AND ENTRANCING!<br>FEEL LIKE RUNNING AND DANCING FOR JOY!_

"What _is _that?"

_Yeah_ no, that is _definitely_ not my imagination.

_FOR I'M LOVED  
>BY A PRETTY, WONDERFUL B—<em>

I switched off the alarm on my iPod, walking slowly towards the living room, holding the bat ready in my hands.

"Who's there?"

"What do you mean who's there?" the voice said.

I walked into the room to see a strange bearded man lying on the couch, with his arm lazily covering his eyes.

A sketchy man lying on _my_ couch, under _my_ beloved crocheted blanket, resting his head on _my_ sofa pillow.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY APARTMENT!" I yelled, tightening my grip on the bat in my hands.

The stranger jumped straight up in the couch, quickly turning to see me holding a bat ready to beat him. His eyes went wide as he put his hands up in defense, getting up from off the couch. My nose picked up this weird scent in the room, sort of like a horseradish cheese smell...mixed with sewer.

"Woah woah woah, okay. Just—put the bat down! Why are you holding a bat?"

"WHY ARE YOU IN MY APARTMENT!" A trail of sharp pains from all my screaming attacked my forehead. Holy mother—I need to stop yelling before my brain breaks through my face.

The man stood up, my blanket falling off his chest and onto the floor as he moved closer to me. Who did this crazed bitch think he was? I flinched, taking a step or two behind, pointing the tip of the bat at him defensively. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a shirt that said 'Kurt for Class President'.

"OH MY GOD, WHY ARE YOU WEARING MY _SHIRT_!" _Shit shit shit _that hurt like hell.

"You let m—okay please, can you put the bat down and then we'll talk? Okay?"

I squinted my eyes and took a closer look at him, taking in his grossly long beard and the mop of hair plopped on his head. "Oh—Oh my god…are you the…_hobo_?"

"Well yeah, I'm homeless, but—"

"Oh god," my eyes widened in horror, lowering the bat and putting a hand up to my currently throbbing head, "please tell me I didn't sleep with you."

"No! No, _god_, no."

_Phew._

"I just—you don't remember any of last night, do you?"

"Well of course I remember _you_ and getting into the bar…it just gets fuzzy after I started drinking."

"Okay, well, then drop the bat and I'll inform you."

I put the bat on the floor and sat down on the bench next to the window, watching as the man sat back down on the couch and studying his holey socks. My eyes flickered down and I noticed the worn out sneakers resting on the floor. I was ninety-percent sure that the sickening smell was coming from his shoes.

"Okay, so around one in the morning you and your girlfriend—"

"Friend."

"Okay then, you and your _friend_—"

"The blonde right?"

"Yes, she was blonde."

"Jackie."

"This isn't going to work if you keep interrupting me." he said.

I nodded. "Fine."

"You and _Jackie_ left the Aura around one in the morning. I was still performing and—"

I chuckled. "_Performing_? That's seriously what you call it?"

"Remember that thing I said about not interrupting?"

"Right." I couldn't help but chuckle a little more before he continued.

The man sighed and rolled his eyes at me. Jesus, since when are homeless men so easily wound up? I always thought they were constantly giddy or something…or at least that's what they seemed like in Disney movies. But then again they always ended up being witches or having some sort of magical beans or whatever. That could be a somewhat misleading.

"I was still…playing and you guys stopped to listen. Jackie asked me if I was cold and I said yes. Then she asked me if I had a place to stay and I said no. And you kind of just stared at me for a while before insisting that I come home with you. You grabbed my bucket and so I thanked you, grabbed my guitar, and walked with you. You told me your name, I told you mine."

"Which is?"

"Oh, m—my name?"

Well he certainly is a jumpy hobo. "Yes, your name."

"Um…Blaine."

Hmm, _Blaine the hobo_. "Nice name."

"Thanks."

My head throbbed again and I got up to go get some aspirin. I walked to my kitchenette, rummaging through the cupboards and getting a glass of water. "So is that it?" I asked before swallowing the pill, wincing and gulping down water immediately afterwards.

"What? Oh…no." Blaine said, shifting himself in his seat and continuing. "Jackie went home and I followed you here. You kept muttering something about me smelling weird all throughout the elevator ride and in your apartment. You were saying how you felt so bad for me. As soon as you got in you plopped yourself on the couch, saying how you were 'back at last' and something about Jackie being your 'comfort cockblock'. After that you started like, placing these weird kisses on the leather…it was all very strange. I was just standing there listening to you for a while before you got up and went into your bedroom. You came back with a t-shirt and sweats that you insisted I change into. Then you asked me if I needed anything and when I said no you said I was the most appreciative hobo you'd ever met and invited me to stay for the week. I thought it was a very generous and gracious offer so I accepted. Then you disappeared in your room for the rest of the night."

"Oh. My. God."

"Yeah, I know it's a bit strange, right?"

I leaned against my counter as I cradled my face in my hands and rubbed at my eyes. "_Oh my god._"

"I mean, you're actually really, really nice when you're drunk."

"_ohhhh myyyyy goooooood._"

"Are you alright?"

I began to pace the rooms, flailing my arms as I went back and forth. "_This_ is why I don't drink! Crazy shit like this _always_ happens whenever I drink."

"If it makes you feel better, this isn't the first time it's happened to me." Blaine said.

"What?"

"Yeah! Believe it or not, this is actually the fourth time a drunken person has invited me into their home. I've been told that I'm particularly dapper for a homeless guy."

I couldn't help but a scoff a little as I glanced back at the bird's nest of hair on top of his head and the medium sized furry animal that he sported as a beard. "People think _you're _dapper? No offense…but have they seen you?"

"What? I just haven't shaved in a while. Or…you know…cut my hair…or showered."

"_Oh god _please stop talking before I gag." I said as I rubbed my face in my hands, then immediately reprimanding myself for doing so. The more you touch your face, the more oily it gets, and the more acne you get, and then my moisturizing routine will take even _longer, _and god knows I wouldn't make it class on time…

"SHIT!" I said, jumping back up from my seat and running towards the bedroom."What time is it?"

"Um…ten fifteen I think. Why?" Blaine yelled from the living room.

"Shit shit shit shit shit." I cursed, running around my room and trying to put together a somewhat sensible outfit while my mind was reeling. "My music theory class starts in like ten minutes!"

"Oh! Where do you go to school?"

"Hunter College—why am I telling you this!" I ran back into the living room. "I have to shower, just _please_ don't touch anything."

After showering (which was probably one of the fastest showers I've ever taken in my life) I had to skip my moisturizing routine and throw on clothes as fast as I could. When I went back into the kitchen, Blaine was back on the couch with the blanket on top of him, flipping through the channels.

"Woahwoahwoahwoahwoah! Why—what are you doing?"

"Watching TV?" Blaine said, with what I'm presuming is supposed to be an innocent look. I can barely tell what any of his facial expressions are with the amount of hair on his face.

"Uhh, what? So you're planning on just staying here?"

"Yep!" he said, "That's the plan!"

"Umm, how about _no_?"

"Look, drunk or not, you invited me to stay for the week. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm not leaving."

My eyes glanced back and forth between the clock and him. My class started in three minutes. I just _couldn't _do this right now.

"Isn't this illegal or something?"

"Well, no, you _invited_ me."

"You can't prove that!"

"You can't prove that you didn't!"

"Ugh! You are so freaking infuriating!" I paced back and forth, freaking out a little before grabbing my messenger bag and jacket, heading for the door. "I can't believe I'm letting this happen." I opened the door, turning around before leaving. "I will be back in three hours. Do _not_ make yourself at home."

And with that I slammed the door and headed down the hallway, planning to try my best not to think about the fact that a stranger was spending the day in apartment.

* * *

><p>Yeah, that plan could be thrown down the crapper.<p>

"…but all have the same basic practical arrangement. The player depresses a key hinged in the middle of its length, which causes the far end of the key to rise. This lifts a jack, a long strip of wood, to which is attached a small…" the professor droned on in front of the lecture hall.

This had to be like the three thousandth time I've checked the clock during this class. Two and half hours in, and every single minute has been spent distressing about what was happening at my apartment. None of it was spent focusing on what I should have been focusing on, the Baroque musical era and other dead composers from the Renaissance.

Right now, my freakishly tall and very old professor is playing harpsichord samples for us. I fucking hate the harpsichord. It's like someone wanted to make a toy piano with the essence of nails on a chalkboard. It has all the appeal and attraction of a really, really old piano that hasn't been tuned in twenty years. How the hell did people listen to this regularly back then? How the hell has every single harpsichord in the world not been set on fire?

"And that concludes today's session, class. I'll see you all later and don't forget that you have a term paper due soon."

FINALLY.

I hurriedly shoved my notebook and textbooks into my messenger bag, almost running down the steps to get out of the lecture hall. I had almost made it out the door when…

"Oh, Mr. Hummel!"

_Damn it. _I winced as I closed my eyes, slowly turning myself on my heel and facing my professor.

"Yes, Mr. Roybi?"

"A little birdie told me that you've made it into the cast of Wicked!"

"Oh yeah, that's me!" I said chuckling nervously.

"Well congratulations! How is everything over at the Gershwin?"

"Oh it's…good. It's really hard work, but it pays off."

That initiated a very painful conversation that lasted for about fifteen minutes. The man felt the need to give me a ten minute history lesson on the life of George Gershwin and how the theatre came about. I stood there politely, smiling and nodding my head at all the appropriate times, while on the inside I was aching to leave the freaking building.

* * *

><p>"Alright well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat all day, I have papers to review. I'll see you in two days, Mr. Hummel."<p>

Did he just—he did, didn't he? He just did that. Wow, what a douche bag.

"Um, yeah. Goodbye Mr. Roybi."

In a flash I was out of the lecture hall and making my way out of the front door of the building. I needed to get home. Oh my god, I _needed _to get home. Blaine could have pooped on my wardrobe for all I know. He may have sold every last piece of designer clothing that I own by now. He may even be _psychotic_. _Holy shit _I just left a possible lunatic in my apartment for almost four hours.

I rode the subway, trying to ignore the grumbling in my stomach from not eating anything all day. It was only 2:00 and I was already completely exhausted. My day hadn't even begun yet. I still had to do the show tonight and work on my term paper. The familiar feeling of a panic attack started to settle in as I closed my eyes and silently wished for the train to go faster.

My heart rate increased pretty significantly as I rode the elevator up to my apartment. I prepared my mind for the worst, just so that I wouldn't completely pass out when I opened the door. The elevator doors opened at my floor and I walked slowly into the hallway, a feeling of impending doom sinking in as I watched the room numbers increase, nearing my apartment. Once I got to my door I just stared at it for a good five minutes, too scared to open it.

Should I knock?

I mean what if he's naked or something?

"_God _Kurt, what are you doing?" I murmured to myself, fishing my keys out of my bag and opening the door before I could think about it too much.

As soon as the door opened a rush of warm, sweet air filled the hallway. I couldn't put my finger on the scent, but I knew it was food, and my stomach grumbled quite loudly at the mouth-watering smell. A feeling of relief came upon me as I saw that everything in my living room seemed to be just like I left it.

"Hello?" I said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind me. Across the room I saw Blaine pop his head around the corner from the kitchenette.

"Hello!" he said, before disappearing back into the kitchen. _Oh, so that's what his face looks like._ The length of his beard had been decreased quite significantly. It was now maybe only an inch long, but he still had a very mountain-man look to him.

"Y—your beard."

"Yeah, I tamed it down with some scissors I found in your bathroom." Blaine's voice rang from the other room. "Damn thing's been annoying me for weeks."

"Um…what're you doing?" I asked skeptically, taking off my jacket before walking into the kitchen. There was a nice looking plate of pancakes resting on the counter with my laptop open right next to it. Blaine was hovering over the sink, washing dishes and still wearing my sweats and t-shirt from this morning. However, he didn't smell bad, so he must have showered. I lowered my bag off my arm and let it fall to the floor as e gestured towards the pancakes with a soapy spoon.

"I made pancakes!" He said in an overly excited manner, putting down the spoon and doing this weird jazz hands thing as he turned towards me.

Err…what the hell was that?

I gave him a confused look and he chuckled a bit. "I was really hungry and so I thought it would be okay to make some. I don't know whether you ate or not but I made a lot, just in case you were hungry."

"Oh…um…thanks?"

"Have a seat!" He said, gesturing to stool behind the counter. I hesitated, but ended up listening to him, my empty stomach controlling my brain. He set a few pancakes in front of me, along with the syrup and a small tub of margarine. I cut out a piece of pancake with my fork, taking a bite cautiously.

"This isn't like…laced with arsenic or anything…right?"

Blaine laughed, returning do the dishes. "Whatever happened to me being the _'nicest and most appreciative hobo you ever met'_?"

"That was before you refused to leave my apartment." I said, biting on another forkfull of pancake. They were suprisingly delicious, arsenic be damned.

"And on _that_ note," he said, placing the last plate on the drying rack. "how're my pancakes?" I looked up to see Blaine leaning on the other side of the counter, smiling teasingly at me.

I found myself smiling a bit sheepishly back because _w__ow_, he was really kind of handsome…aside from the whole Jew-fro thing he had going on. But the fact that most of his beard was gone really helped him out a lot, I could really see his facial features.

Maybe this guy wasn't so sketchy.

"They're pretty decent," I said nonchalantly. "Did you make them from scratch? I don't remember ever buying any pancake mix."

"I sure did!" he pointed towards the laptop resting near me. The screen was opened up to a recipe for homemade pancakes.

"How'd you figure out my password?"

Blaine smiled some more. "Oh, I have my ways."

I chocked on the piece of pancake I was currently trying to swallow and Blaine laughed at my reaction. "_You hacked my laptop_?"

"No, no I'm not that creepy! I found a piece of paper with a bunch of passwords on it."

I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to eat. An awkward silence settled in as Blaine watched me eat, following the fork back and forth between the plate and my mouth.

"How old are you?"

I'm sure if I was swallowing I would have choked on my pancake again. "Don't you think I should be the one asking you that?"

He smirked. "Yes, I suppose so." I stared at him expectantly waiting for him to tell me. He chuckled at my eagerness before speaking up. "22."

"_22_?"

"22."

"Wow." I said in amazement. Now that his beard wasn't so long, I guess it was easy to believe that he could be that young. But seriously _who_ is able to grow that intense of a beard at 22?

However I did feel a bit more comfortable knowing that he wasn't too much older than me.

"And how about yourself?"

"20."

"Huh," he said. "Fooled me, I assumed you were straight out of high school."

"_Flattering._" I replied sarcastically, finishing the last of my pancakes.

"Well hey, it's better than me thinking you were in your thirties."

"Actually I was guessing that was how old you were." I smirked, picking up my plate and heading towards the sink.

"Me?"

"Mhm."

"Because of the beard?"

"Because of the beard."

**I'm not sure where I'm going to take this, so review with your suggestions. Reviews are always greatly and deeply appreciated. (: **

…**and just in case you didn't get that hint, I really really really want you to review…**


	3. Chapter 3 Unwrapping of the Greek God

_Well Kurt, you moved to New York City for adventure. Here's your adventure. _

Why am I hearing Burt in my head? Since when does my conscience have the voice of my father?

_Someone's got to be looking out for ya, you know, since you don't believe in God and all…_

Oh shut up, metaphorical dad. I'll ask for your help when I need it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Blaine said, suddenly. I guess I had been unintentionally staring at him for about five minutes, just basking in the oddness of the situation.

"Oh." I snapped out of my accidental gaze, looking around the room. "I was just thinking…your face happened to be in the general direction I was uhm…thinking in."

Smooth.

I really had been thinking though. It was three-o-clock, and I had to be back at the Gershwin in two hours. Originally I'd planned on writing my music theory term paper during my free hour and a half, but now I had a hobo on my hands. I mean, of course I could leave him here at the apartment while I did tonight's performance - but could I _really _trust him that much? I mean, he could just be waiting for me to have enough conviction that he was clinically sane before wreaking havoc upon my apartment.

Maybe I should just call it quits, lay down the law, and demand for him to leave at once. It's not like the police would take his side on his situation, that is, if it was necessary for them to get involved. But _god_ I'd feel like such an ass kicking him out on the streets. Those _freezing cold_ streets. Plus, he's been nothing but nice to me. He made me brunch for Christ's sake.

Wait. Was I allowed to take him with me? I mean, I do get a free ticket if the show isn't sold out an hour before it begins. I can give him the ticket, go backstage, get my costume on, do the show, and come back. Perfect!

Ohhhh crap, there's sort of a dress code for the theatre, isn't there?

Hmm…

"What's your pant size?"

"Um…Excuse me?"

"Your pant size." I repeated, getting up and moving towards my bedroom, motioning for him to follow me. Blaine stumbled off his stool to trail after me. I walked into my closet, going straight for my more formal wear.

"May I ask why?" Blaine said from the doorway of my closet.

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked through my small collection of Armani suits, glancing back at Blaine to see if maybe one of them would fit him. "Because sweats and a t-shirt aren't usually the ideal attire for Broadway theatre. Do you think this will fit?" I said, holding up a grey dress pants in one hand and the jacket that went with it in the other.

The scruffily dressed man looked down at his feet, chuckling, and then looking back up at me. "Are you asking me to be your date?"

Why did that seem unusually charming?

"No, of course not." I said, keeping my cool and turning back around to look at the rest of the suits. "Why would I need you to be my date?"

"Oh, I don't know," Blaine said sarcastically, "because it's the _Broadway theatre_?"

I laughed a bit while I handed him the suit. "No, I won't be joining you tonight, Blaine. I'll be backstage." I saw the cogs in his head slowly start to turn as I walked out of the closet and towards the bathroom.

"Oh! You work on Broadway? What show?"

"Wicked."

I could hear Blaine gasp from the other room, then walking over to join me in the bathroom. "That must be a really exciting job."

"Yep." I said, removing some bottles from my cabinet and placing them around the sink.

"So are you in like stage crew or costume designing or…"

"I'm a winged monkey."

Blaine snickered before realizing I was serious. "A _winged monkey_?"

"I'm guessing you've never seen the show."

"Well, no, but I—"

"Yeah, I figured."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know, you—you're…_homeless_. I mean, I can't expect you to have a thorough knowledge of musical theatre."

Blaine let out a sigh and leaned against the doorway. "Is that what you're fancy school taught you?"

"What?"

"You know, Kurt, the trouble with schools is…"

Is he…?

"…_they always try to teach the wrong lesson._" Blaine sang.

He is.

"_Believe me I've been kicked out of enough of them to knooow. They want you to become less callow less shallow, but I say, why invite stress in? Stop studying strife, and learn to live the unexamined liiiiiiiife_."

I laughed and watched as Blaine danced into the bathroom, singing, gliding and spinning around me.

"_Dancing through life, skimming the surface, gliding where turf is smoooooth_."

"Okay, okay." I said, folding my arms and trying to hide my smile with the side of my hand.

"_Life's more painless for the brainless. Why think too haaard, when it's so soothing dancing through life. No need to tough it when you can sluff it off as I doooo._"

Oh, okay, wow…that's pretty attractive. Why am I finding this so attractive? "I get it Blaine, I was wrong."

"_Nothing maaaatters but knowing nothing matters. It's just life, so keep dancing throooough._"

"Oh my god Blaine, I get it, okay? You know Wicked. I have to listen to that song multiple times a day." Despite my demeanor, I secretly didn't want him to stop singing. My god he had a gorgeous voice.

"What, you don't like my singing?"

Actually, I like it so much I might ask you to sing me to sleep tonight.

"Well…"

"Because last night you seemed to like it an awful lot." Blaine said with a teasing smile, moving closer to me. "You asked me to sing you to sleep."

My mouth dropped open. I should be horrified but, honestly, did he just read my mind?

"_That _is why I don't drink." I said, avoiding his eyes before his gaze could really succeed in making me flustered. "But you're going to have to clean up a little better than that if you're coming to my show tonight." He raised an eyebrow as I pointed to the bottles I had taken out of the cabinet. "There's facial wash, shaving cream, a razor, an extra toothbrush, and aftershave here. I highly recommend that you somewhat…style your beard, at least. I'm assuming you took a shower while I was gone, but you're welcome to take another. I have some hair styling products on my vanity in my bedroom, _please _read the directions on the bottles. I'll be on the couch working on homework if you need me. Don't hesitate to ask, I always enjoy a good makeover. Normally I would completely oversee all of this, but I have shit loads of paper to write so…"

"So…take a shower and make myself look pretty, got it." Blaine replied, holding a thumbs up and looking at the bottles resting on the sink.

"Um…yeah." I said, looking around the room awkwardly and deciding I should probably leave now. "Err…good luck? I—um, no…good…have fun. Wait, no…you…bye Blaine." I stepped out, blushing heavily as I gently clicked the door shut.

* * *

><p>I quickly got to work, sitting with my laptop, text books, and a cup of coffee by my side. My mind became so engrossed in the differences between the composers of modern day society compared to those of Medieval times I almost completely forgot about the man in the other room. When about a page and a half of quality writing was sitting on my lap I heard the bathroom door open and reached for my cup, taking a sip before looking up at—<p>

_Holy fuck. _

Blaine stood in the hallway, a towel hanging low on his waist and water droplets still clinging to his skin. I gasped and the coffee in my mouth went down the wrong pipe, threatening to spill into my lungs. I began coughing like crazy, almost hacking to get the liquid back into my throat. When I glanced back up, Blaine was rushing to my side, looking worried. He had to hold the towel at his side or else it would have fallen off on his journey to the couch and _that_ certainly did not help my troubled state.

"Are you okay?"

The first thing I noticed were the abs that were now displayed right in front of my face. A beautiful, _beautiful_ set of abs that sat above a very mouthwatering 'V' line. I just stared as I coughed, feeling almost as if I was dreaming that this was happening. There's _no way _that this is the same person I saw outside the club the other night, no freaking way.

"Kurt?"

My head snapped up to meet his eyes and _oh my god_. How has he been hiding such a stunning face for so long? I just wanted to…touch it. I felt like Dory and Marlin felt when they first found that piranha. There was no more beard left, it was all just gorgeous bright, slightly tanned skin. His hair was hanging low on his forehead, almost blocking out his golden green eyes. How have I not noticed those stunning orbs before? My hands wanted to move his hair to the side so I could stare deeper into them. My gaze drifted down to his lips, which looked so incredibly red, close, and tangible. And they were twisted into a…smirk? Why the fuck is he smiling at me? I was just coughing my ass off.

"I—I—coffee…wrong pipe." I finally stated, staring helplessly into his eyes. His smile got even bigger. Does the bastard know what he's doing to me?

"Oh, okay. Can you help me trim my hair real quick? I mean, I can do it myself if you—"

"No!" I interrupted. "There is no way I'm letting you cut your own hair, that always ends up in disaster. Just look at any family sitcom on television and there's a self haircut horror story."

Blaine nodded, walking back towards the bathroom.

"You can go sit at my vanity, I'll be there in a second, just have to grab a few things"

"Alrighty then," Blaine said as he disappeared in the hallway.

I went to the bathroom, pulling myself together as I looked into the mirror.

_It's okay Kurt, no big deal, _I said to myself inside my head. _There's just an insanely gorgeous half naked man in your bedroom, no…big…deal. _

"_If you want my body and you think I'm sexy, come on sugar, let me know_." I could hear Blaine sing lowly from the other room.

Are you fucking kidding me?

I grabbed my grooming scissors and another towel, walking out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.

"_If you really need me, just reach out and touch me." _

"Okaaay!" I said walking over and draping the towel over his shoulders. Thank goodness for that, because I don't think I could work near his bare chest without actually touching. "Who's ready for a haircut?"

Blaine smiled at me brightly through the mirror in response, ruffling a hand through his curls as he chuckled. I picked up a lock of hair, extending it off the top of his head. "Wow, this is fairly long."

"Yeah, it's been a while." He replied sheepishly.

"I can see." I mumbled, turning around him to get a better look at his head of hair. "So how much are you willing to lose?"

"Well I'll be fine as long as you don't buzz it all off. I mean, I like my hair. I think it's…quaint."

"_No no_, don't worry, I won't chop it all off." I ran my fingers through it experimentally, "You actually have an excellent head of hair here, there's a lot of styling possibilities you can go with."

"Well uh…thanks!"

I picked up my scissors, lifting up a lock of his hair and mentally measuring out a few inches down. A deep breath rose in my chest and I snipped off most of the piece, leaving a lock of chocolate brown hair in my hand. I held it out in the mirror for him to see.

"And so it begins." He said, smirking once he saw my smile.

I slowly made my way through his head of hair, trimming it down three or four inches. I couldn't stop staring at him through the mirror as I worked. It was like this box of Greek god was being unveiled right in front of my eyes, and I was the one lucky enough to unravel it. The more I touched his hair, the more I began to love it - it was silky with gorgeous shades of dark brown and still a bit damp from the shower. Once I was done I just stared into my vanity mirror, still not believing the appearance of the person in front of me.

"Wow. I don't think my hair's been this short since…since..." He never finished his sentence, instead he grimaced and frowned a few seconds later.

"Oh…you don't like it?" I looked back at his head, trying to see if I forgot any pieces of hair that were uneven.

"What?" Blaine looked back up at me through the mirror, his expression softening until he was grinning at me again. "No, I love it. Thank you, Kurt, it's really nice of you."

"My pleasure." Was suddenly all I could manage to say because _holy shit_that smile was so obviously sexy now.

_YOOOOO, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT, WHAT I REALLY, REALLY WANT. SO TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT._

I must have jumped about four feet, scrambling to my bedside table to grab my phone. Of course Jackie would be the one to call me right now, _of course_. She had set her ringtone to the Spice Girls song the other night during a prolonged rehearsal, I had just forgotten to change it.

"Hello?"

"Hummel! Where the hell are you? The show starts in like forty-five fucking minutes and you know it takes at least fifteen to get the monkey suit on!" Jackie whispered into the phone in a harsh tone. I gasped, looking over at my clock. How the hell was it 4:15 already?

"I'm coming!" I yelled into the phone before hanging up and running out of my bedroom. "Blaine, the suit's in my closet, there's a shitload of shoes to pick from under the racks! Be at the Gershwin Theatre by 5, I'll leave the ticket with the attendant at the door and there is an extra metro-card in the kitchen that you can use!" I grabbed my bag and keys, heading for the door. "Oh, and enjoy the show-OH MY FUCK." I yelped, his disgusting pair of shoes and their _lovely_ smell greeting me by the door, stepping around them, plugging my nose and opening the door. "BLAINE, IF THESE FILTHY SNEAKERS ARE STILL HERE BY THE TIME I GET BACK YOU ARE _SO_OUT OF HERE."

* * *

><p>"Finally!" Jackie whispered to me once I ran into the dressing room, already in her monkey suit. "Wayne was about to kill you, you're lucky I distracted him!"<p>

"I know, I know, and I'm grateful. I just had a lot of crap thrown at me and I lost track of time." I sat down at one of the makeup desks and one of the makeup artists quickly began working on my face.

Jackie sat down on the stool next to me before pulling her mask over her face. "Yes Kurt, I'm sure you've had a long day but I mean this is _Broadway_. They'll replace you in an instant if you're not careful and god knows there are hundreds of unemployed dancers dying to take your place."

"Yes, _god_ Jackie you think I don't already know that? I'm thankful that you saved my ass, I really am. I just had probably the longest day of my existence, so right now the 'irresponsible teenager' talk isn't very helpful."

Jackie nodded as she resigned to silence, letting the makeup people put my mask over my head before I reached for my suit. It had tons of very intricate parts, and you needed another person available in order to put it on. I stepped into the suit while one of the stage crew people began to latch and tie the parts at my feet.

"Besides," I said to Jackie while other lady worked, "it's kind of really your fault anyways."

"_My _fault?"

"Yes, your fault."

"Care to explain?"

"You forced me to go out with you and get hammered beyond belief."

"What," Jackie laughed, "was this morning like your first hangover or something? Is that why today's been the '_longest day of my existence_'." She was mimicking me now, using air quotes and a ridiculous voice.

"No, it was not my first hangover, you alcoholic." I readjusted my suit in the groin area. These leotards are unbelievably tight and there was absolutely no graceful way to get in and out of them.

"Speaking of hangovers, I do not remember a thing from last night. Care to fill me in?"

I thought about what I was going to say for a second or two, not even sure where to begin. "I really don't think you're going to believe me."

"Kurt!" Jackie gasped, her face beaming. "Did you hook up with one of the male monkeys?"

I glanced around the costume designers, hoping that no one else heard her little outburst, especially the other male monkeys. "Oh my god, could you be any louder?" I said, almost putting my hand over my mouth, but them remembering that it would ruin her makeup. "_No_ I did not sleep with any monkeys!"

I looked up, accidentally making eye contact with one of the costume designers. She gave me a really weird look to which I could only respond to with an awkward smile and wave. The sound of Jackie's giggles make me turn my attention back to her.

"There's a homeless man in my apartment that refuses to leave."

"Are you shitting me?"

"_Not shitting you_."

"Well wha—how the hell did that happen?"

"Well I apparently invited him to stay for the night because it was freezing outside and I thought he had a decent voice. Then I guess later on I told him that he could stay for the rest of the week because he was elegant or some crap like that. Rumor has it I'm a freaking Good Samaritan when I'm not in the right state of mind."

"Wow, I should have listened to you when you said you didn't like to drink."

"Yes, you should have!" It felt like I was letting her off too easy. "Bitch." There we go.

The lights flashed on and off and we heard the powerful first notes of the overture being played from the orchestra pit, and the chorus's start of 'No One Mourns the Wicked'. We still had a long while until our cue, so didn't have to rush to finish getting ready, however we did have to keep quiet.

"So you're leaving him alone in your apartment?" Jackie whispered.

"Well yeah, when went to school this morning I didn't really have a choice. But the weird thing is, when I came back he had made me pancakes."

"Well that's not so weird, I mean, if you gave me free housing for a week I would make you pancakes too. Sounds like pretty rational hobo."

"Oh god, I hope so."

"So did you kick him out yet?"

"Uhmm...no. I have not." I replied. Now that I said it out loud, the fact that I was still putting up with this sounded pretty freaking stupid.

"Ahuh," Jackie said, looking at me as if trying to study my features. "So, what, you and McHomeless-son are best friends now?"

"Well, no, more like…acquaintances?"

"Okay, well! Didn't think you'd be the kind of person to chill with a homeless dude all day."

"I really couldn't help myself."

Jackie looked at me like I had just told her that I was on a shit-cake diet. "Kurt, if this is some kind of weird old guy kink you have going on I _really_ don't…"

"No, no, Jackie he's not old. He's 22…and he's…_gorgeous_."

"We're talking about the hobo right?"

"This morning he looked absolutely disgusting because his beard was like twenty feet long…honestly, who can grow something like that at the age of 22? Anyways, he had showered and trimmed his beard while I was at school and when I came back he seemed kind of attractive, so I didn't kick him out just yet. Then I said that he could come to the show tonight and I told him that he had to clean up his look in order to go. He shaved his beard and I gave him a haircut and _holy hell_it was like a sex god stepped into my apartment. Like honestly, Jackie, _what kind of hobo has abs_?"

"He's here?" Jackie jumped up from her stool, quickly moving out of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to see this 'sex god'." I followed Jackie up a set of stairs backstage to the rafters. There was some stage crew up there manning a few curtains and backdrops. Off to the side of the stage is a small room that is lined with TVs that display the security camera footage of the audience and stage. I looked down at the stage from where we were, (we had to be quiet because we were directly above the stage and we could be heard from the audience). I could see Elphaba sing 'The Wizard and I', making a mental note that we only had about a half an hour till our cue.

"Kurt!" Jackie whispered quietly, turning my attention from the actress onstage. "Where is he?"

I looked at the screen, scanning my eyes through the crowd of people watching the show. "I think his seat was for somewhere in the back of the balcony." I continued to look, gasping when I finally found the golden eyes I was looking for. His hair was gel and tamed, making it not as easy for me to notice that it was him. My suit looked _amazing_, and I smiled at my ability to predict his size. "There." I pointed to his head on the screen.

Jackie's mouth dropped open, she looked like she was about to say something loudly, but she slapped her hand over her mouth before any sound came out and just stared at me in disbelief. All I could do was grin proudly at the person sitting in the back of the theater. A smile crept onto Jackie's face as she got up and made her way down the stairs and off of the rafters.

"Okay, you should be thanking me, not making me apologize." Jackie said as I walked back to the makeup mirrors so the lady could finish up my face. I just smiled, putting the tan colored hair mask over my head.

* * *

><p>About twenty minutes later it was time for us to get into the cage for the scene where the Wizard reveals all of the winged monkeys for the first time. Once the cover was thrown off, we began our complicated choreographed routine, jumping between ladders and metal bars. I snuck a peak at Blaine while crouching. He was smiling at us with his hands pressed together and touching his lips, obviously trying to figure out which one was me. I tried my hardest not to smile, I really did. I was supposed to be a miserable tortured monkey in captive for goodness sake—I was absolutely <em>not<em>supposed to be smiling.

I folded my lips under my teeth, trying my hardest not to look at Blaine's widening grin at the other side of the theatre. My face was straining so much by the end of the scene.

"He was smiling at us!" Jackie whispered in a sing-song voice as we walked backstage.

I finally allowed my grin to be release from the chains of my cheeks. "I _cannot_ let myself look at him next time we're on stage. It's so freaking hard not to smile back at him."

"Well now he probably knows which monkey you are…the one with his lips hidden behind his teeth and an uncomfortably pleasant and yet still pained look on his face."

* * *

><p>When it was time for us to go on stage again, I began automatically giving myself a pep talk in my head.<p>

_You're a monkey. Channel your inner monkey. Monkeys aren't attracted to stunning hobos, they don't even find them that appealing. That would be considered bestiality, and bestiality is revolting. Freaking revolting. So don't you dare look at that beautiful bastard Kurt, keep your eyes trained on the sound guy, just like they said in the workshops._

And of course, when I was back onstage, I ended up glancing at him literally every seven seconds.

I counted.

* * *

><p>"That's it. He can't come to any more of my shows. He's too big of a distraction. Now unzip me, please." I said to Jackie when we were back in the dressing room after the show. "So when are you finally done with classes?"<p>

"My last exam is on Friday, and then I'm catching a plane home right after."

"Very nice, very nice."

"I am _so_glad my modern musical studies class is almost over. You know, when I signed up for it I assumed that 'modern' meant something like contemporary or current music…not music from the Modern Era." I said.

"Ew, I freaking hate harpsichords."

"Thank you!"

Ten minutes later we were sitting at the vanities in the dressing room, trying to remove as much of the theater makeup as we could. I was so overtired, running on energy that came purely from the pancakes. At this point I was just lazily stroking my face in random places with the toilette, just enjoying the feel of the cool, chemically processed makeup remover on my face.

"I am so glad that the producers are allowing us to take a few days off for the holidays. Last year, while I was a dancer for 'Grease', we had to do two shows on Christmas Eve. I was miserable." Jackie said, huffing as she capped the a bottle of lotion**.**

"Oh, I know. I think my dad would kill me if I wasn't back in Ohio for Christmas."

"I can't believe Christmas is only a week away though. I'm nowhere near done with my shopping."

"Me either, I don't even know what I'm getting for Finn or my father. I mean, Carol is easy because…well…clothes. When I get Finn or my dad clothes they usually just make a 'what the hell is this?' face and murmur an awkward 'thanks'."

Jackie laughed. "That reminds me of this time in middle school when I wanted my brother to take up dancing. I got him tap shoes for Christmas and he just stared at me."

We eventually got all of the crap off our faces, got all of our clothes back on and made our way towards the stage door.

"So where's Blaine?"

My eyes went wide as I realized that I had completely forgotten about him.

"I—I really don't know."

* * *

><p>We walked out the stage door and out onto the freezing streets. I heard the door close behind us, followed by a slightly familiar voice.<p>

"Kurt!"

I turned around to see Blaine move from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Blaine!"

He was still wearing the grey Armani suit (which looked absolutely spectacular on him close up) and his hair was gelled back. It was amazing how remarkably dapper he looked. And to think, twenty four hours ago he was singing on the streets, looking like my grandfather and smelling like shit.

"How long have you been out here?"

"Umm…I don't have a watch, but I'd say the better part of an hour." He replied.

My eyes glanced to Jackie, who was just standing there staring at Blaine like he was an artifact in a museum of hot.

"Oh my god, you must be freezing." I said, almost reaching my arm out to comfort him, but then stopping myself because I wasn't quite sure how I would do that exactly. "C'mon, let's get back to my place."

"Sounds good to me!" Blaine replied, then looking between me and Jackie expectantly.

"Oh! Um, Blaine this is Jackie, my friend and fellow winged monkey. Jackie this is Blaine."

"Yes, I remember you from last night. Thank you, by the way, I don't think I would have survived last night if it wasn't for you." Blaine said to Jackie.

"I umm—have no idea what you're talking about actually. I was just as smashed as Kurt was, sadly. But uh…you are welcome…Blaine."

We all stood there, awkwardly, for about twenty seconds, each of us not sure if they should be the ones to speak next. I decided that it would be acceptable for me to just motion down the street. Jackie and Blaine quickly nodded in agreement, and the three of us made our way down the street to the subway entrance.

**Sorry this update took so long. But hey, it was Christmas. **

**Just in case you don't know the show Wicked, the song Blaine sang in the bathroom was 'Dancing Through Life', which is what Fiyerro sings in Act 1 of the show. Conterary to popular belief, I haven't actually seen the show either. *le sigh***

**Speaking of Broadway, are any of you going to see Darren in How to Succeed? If so, I want to hear all about it once you do. I live so freaking close to New York City and it's ridiculous that I won't get to see it. **

**Anywho, thanks to my lovely beta liz-loz for beta-ing this for me. There's also a new poll on my profile you guys should take a look at. **

**REVIEW! (:**


	4. Chapter 4 Phone Call Allergy

**You want to know what's really coincidental? I was surprised with tickets to see Wicked last week and our seats were in the very back of the theatre. I felt like I was sitting where Blaine sat last chapter. Talk about extensive research, right?**

**You guys will never guess what's going to happen in this chapter.**

"Did you like the show?"

"Oh my god, yes. You guys were fantastic!" Blaine replied. "I especially loved Elphaba's voice. God, that woman can sing."

"Oh, I know. She's magnificent isn't she?" I finally unlocked the door to my apartment, holding the door for Blaine. "Are you hungry?"

Blaine hesitated before answering, working on the bowtie that was around his neck. "Um, yeah. I could eat."

"Oh _please_, shut up. You're probably starving." I said as I stuck my head in the fridge to observe its contents. All that could be seen was half a quart of skim milk, pickles and two little containers of Greek yogurt. "I don't know about you, but I'm not really in the mood for a pickle smoothie tonight."

"That sounds delicious, actually." I turned around to gave Blaine an estranged look.

"I'm kidding. I try to make jokes sometimes, you know." Blaine said with a smile as he successfully untied his bowtie and left it hanging around his collar. He took on the whole 'casually formal' look very well. To be honest, I kind of felt like there was a GQ model sitting in my kitchen.

"_I don't know_," I responded skeptically, "hobos are known to eat peculiar things."

"Yeah, well I think that by now we'd both agree that I'm not your average homeless Joe." I decided not to dissect that last comment and chose to look for takeout menus instead.

"Okay, so here are all the places I have that deliver. There's pizza, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, and a diner around the corner. Your pick."

"Wait, you're…buying me dinner?"

"What, you didn't think I was going to be here stuffing my face while you sat there and watched, did you?"

"Well, I dunno. People on the street seem to be pretty okay with the principle."

"Blaine, you're in my _home_. I'm not some heartless bastard. Of course I'm going to buy you dinner." I said as I reached for my phone. "Go ahead and pick something off of a menu. Seriously, it's no problem."

Blaine's eyes bore into mine affectionately. "Kurt, I…" He reached for one of my hands across the counter, holding it in both of his. "Thank you, Kurt. For everything. You're—You…you've been more than accommodating and—"

"Really Blaine, it's just dinner."

"No, it's not just dinner. It's giving in to me staying here – it's cutting my hair – it's this _Armani_ suit – it's that Broadway show I just had the pleasure of seeing. I—I can never repay you for any of this."

"Who says you have to? Really Blaine, it's not like I'm _giving_you the suit."

"Well still, it's the thought."

"Then…I have nice thoughts. Let's leave it at that. Now pick a place before I actually make that pickle smoothie."

Blaine smiled and looked at the menus while I went into my bedroom to get a change of clothes for him. The apartment was rather chilly because I had the heat off while we were out, so I decided to pick out something warm. Being as fashionable as I am, I don't have too many normal clothes, especially not for the winter. Usually when I'm by myself I just wear a simple tank and put a nice warm blanket around my shoulders as I go about my business.

I grabbed an old McKinley football hoodie that Finn gave me for Christmas three years ago. "I know you like clothes and stuff, so I got you this!" he had said when first I opened the gift. Even thought it was about three sizes too big, was nice of him to get it for me.

"Decide yet?" I asked Blaine as I walked back into the kitchen, putting the hoodie and another pair of sweatpants on the counter.

"Um…yeah. I could really go for a burrito, how about you?"

"Mexican it is!" I grabbed my phone and a notepad off of the fridge. "Write down what you want and I'll order it." Blaine did so as I dialed the number. "Hello? Yes, I'd like an order for delivery please? ...Yes…Yes…" Blaine made a funny face towards while I told the lady on the phone my address. I shooed him away with my hand, still not being able to hide a smile. "I would like a—" Blaine handed me the notepad, "A chicken burrito and a grilled chicken taco salad without the sour cream and cheese." I put my hand over the phone. "Burrito comes with refried beans and rice?"

"That's fine."

"Yes, the beans and rice is fine." I spoke back into the phone. "Alright, thank you. Bye."

"Good?"

"Good. Should be here in twenty minutes."

"Sweet."

"_Yes, _it is very sweet." I replied, settling into a stool opposite Blaine. The clothes on the counter caught my eye. "Oh, these are for you."

He laughed as he looked over at the oversized hoodie. "Kurt, you do know that I have some clothes of my own, right?"

"…The clothes you brought here? Blaine…they kind of smell like shit."

"Yeah, well they're not ruined forever, I just have to wash them. And really, the only things that smelled rancid were the shoes, and already I sold them to Frank before the show."

"Frank?"

"He's that short guy with the weird looking ears that sleeps outside the entrance to Bryant Park. I got like a good 2 bucks for them."

"Oh." Well, if I forgot he was homeless, I'm definitely reminded of that now.

Oh god, am I being weird? Is he taking this as like…me trying to dress him up? Holy _shit_, Kurt what is wrong with you? He's not some weird life size paper doll, you can't just throw clothes at him and send him out places.

Congratulations Kurt, you've managed to creep out a _hobo_.

"Kurt, if it means that much—"

"No, no it doesn't mean anything. I um…I had to do some laundry anyway. There's a laundry room below the lobby, we can go there after dinner."

"Oh, great!"

"Great."

"Thanks, again."

"If you say 'thank you' one more time I'm kicking you out."

* * *

><p>I decided to take a shower before the food came. I was just in the middle of a shampoo cycle when I heard the buzz of the intercom at the front door. Curses flew from my lips as I began washing out the soap in my hair as fast as I could and in a blur of motion I was out of the shower, throwing a small white bathrobe on and rushing out of the bathroom.<p>

When I ran into the living room Blaine was closing the door, a takeout bag in his hand. I stood in the middle of the room, gaping at him.

"How did you…?"

"How did I what?" he said as he set the food on the counter.

"How did you pay for the food?"

"I didn't." He said, smiling at me. I stared at him cynically. He began chuckling.

_Chuckling._

Maybe he really is a psychopath.

"I can be very charming when I want to be, Kurt. And I mean, the suit definitely added to the appeal."

"So you just tricked some poor delivery girl into giving you food for free?"

"Girl…guy…whatever, they were happy to oblige. Flirtatious appearances can be very persuasive." He still had this sly, smooth grin on his face and it wasn't very hard to imagine why a person would give him twenty dollars worth of food for free. Hell, I was even considering giving him my bed for the night.

"Okay then…I'm just going to finish showering." I said, trying to figure out what that girl/guy comment was about. I kept thinking about it as I got back into the shower. I need to get to know him more, find out who he is exactly. Was he gay? No, no he can't be gay.

Well…yeah. Yeah he definitely could be.

But still, I don't think he's interested in me at all. I mean, this morning he was very quick to say that we didn't sleep together.

Twenty minutes later I was out of the shower, in yoga pants and a loose fitting teal sweater. When I walked back into the living room, Blaine was watching TV, the food still on the counter.

"You didn't eat?"

"I was waiting for you." He replied, getting up and going into the kitchenette.

Okay, either he really is the most polite person in New York City or he's just really going to town on the whole ass-kissing thing. "That was really…unnecessary. Sweet, but still unnecessary."

"Well so is taking me to Broadway and buying me—"

"Ah ah!" I cut him off "We've already discussed the consequences of you thanking me again."

"Alright, alright." He said, raising his hands in surrender. "I waited for you. Just accept it."

I smiled. "Ever the gentleman."

* * *

><p>The next few days passed by in a surprisingly pleasant manner. I was extremely busy with midterms and course selections, the show adding even more stress on top of that. Blaine stayed out of the way. He would stay at the apartment all day, fiddling around with his guitar, writing songs (which he wouldn't let me look at) or catching up on things online. He said that he hadn't been on the internet in a good year and he felt like he was totally disconnected to pop culture.<p>

"This Charlie Sheen guy is a freaking lunatic." Blaine mumbled. It was Wednesday night and we both sat at opposite ends of the living room, me studying my psychology textbook and him watching interviews on my laptop. I burst into a fit of laughter while Blaine continued to gawk at the screen. "Seriously though, how the hell does he get away with all of this?"

"You really have been under a rock for the past year haven't you?"

"You can say that again."

I was about to ask him about his life before he was homeless, but then my phone started to ring on the coffee table. I sat forward and sighed when I looked at the screen.

**Incoming Call from Rachel Berry**

"Hello?"

"Kurt!"

"Rachel."

"How are you? I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever! How is New York?"

"I'm good…well." I looked towards Blaine who was peacefully concentrating on my laptop. I had thought of telling Rachel about him for a moment, but then decided against it. "Nothing to complain about, really. New York's really great. How's Chicago?"

"Cold." she replied. Rachel had received a full scholarship from the University of Illinois's theatre program right after we graduated from McKinley. She's been living there for the past two years, no doubt over-competing the living hell out of the rest of her classmates.

"That's it? Just cold?"

"Cold, aggravating, lonely…"

"Rachel, I've told you so many times, you have to at least _try _to make friends."

"Friends are not important! Especially when I have more important things to focus on…like how to dance and act better than all of them."

"What about singing?"

"I'm already far superior in that category…"

I sighed. Nope, Rachel hasn't changed a bit.

"So anyways," she continued, "We need to make plans together for next week. I'm trying to figure out how I can spend as much time with Finn as possible but I still want to be able to work you and Mercedes in while you're still at home. How much time do you have off for the show?"

"I have a week off, which is a miracle. School starts again about three weeks after that—"

"God I can't wait to see Finn. I miss him so much, Kurt."

"Excuse me?"

"Kurt I haven't seen him in _months_. I miss him so much, sometimes I find myself waking up in the middle of the night to my own voice whispering his name over and over—" her voice crooned on the other side of the line. I raised my hand to my forehead, rolling my eyes in exasperation.

"Rache, why are you telling me this?"

"I'm sorry Kurt, I know it's painful to hear about our love because you can't exactly _relate_, but I just need to tell someone. I miss him so much that it actually physically _hurts_."

"Why wouldn't I be able to relate?"

"Well…Kurt, don't think of it like that…It's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, of course you can't _blame_ yourself for never being in love." I don't know why, but that got me mad. How could Rachel just _assume _that I don't know what love is like? I mean…maybe I don't but that's not the point.

"Rachel, I've been in love before. It's not like I don't know what it feels like."

"But you've never had a boyfriend."

"I—How do you know? We haven't talked in months!"

"Kurt, Facebook."

"Uh—he doesn't have a Facebook." I quickly replied. That was where the web of lies began to spin.

"Who doesn't have a Facebook? Seriously Kurt, _both _of my dads' have them and they swore against it a long time ago."

"He doesn't believe in social networking."

"Ooo!" Rachel suddenly sounded very interested. "He sounds like a poet or one of those kinds of people who'll spend the whole day writing in a coffee shop." She gasped. "I bet that's where you met him, isn't it! You love coffee!"

"Umm…yeeeaaahhh…" I slowly looked up towards Blaine, seeing him typing something out on my laptop, brow furrowed in concentration. I took in what he was wearing, a worn out plaid shirt and old jeans. A very stupid idea planted itself in my head. "He's actually a songwriter."

Oh god, what am I doing?

"He sounds adorable Kurt, how come you never told me?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess I didn't want you guys to freak out over me having a…boyfriend." I mentally cringed as I said the word out loud. Blaine looked up from his computer immediately, mouthing 'you have a boyfriend?' to me.

Take it back, Kurt. If you say 'just kidding' now, you will get out of this with minimal damage done. For the love of everything good, turn this shit around.

"That's so silly of you! I would never freak out!" Oh like hell you wouldn't. "What's his name?"

"Blaine." I replied

Oh my god, holy shit. What the hell was that? Wha—why did I just do that? Oh my god!

"What?" Blaine said, thinking I was talking to him. Oh god, _Blaine_. I'm dragging him in this with me. Why am I dragging him in this with me?

"How long have you too been together?" Rachel said, I could almost hear her flailing.

Say just kidding, damn it.

"A month."

What in the name of—!

"Aww, Kurt! What school does he go to?"

"Columbia."

GODDAMN IT, KURT. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?

"Kurt, that's great! I'm so happy for you!"

"Kurt, are you okay?" Blaine said after I didn't reply to him. I just stared wide eyed at the wall.

"I have to go, Rachel."

"Alright Kurt! I love you! And if I don't talk to you in the meantime I'll see you in a couple of days! Bye!"

"Bye."

I pressed the end call button, staring blankly at my phone. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Kurt?" I looked up at Blaine. "You okay?"

"No."

"Who was that?"

"Rachel Berry."

"Oh, okay. So, you have a boyfriend?" Blaine closed the laptop and set it on my coffee table. "I can imagine he's not too fond of me being here."

"No, he's very fond of it." I mumbled, looking down at my hands.

Silence and confusion settled in between us.

"I told her that you were my boyfriend." I spat out.

"What?"

"I know, it's such an immature, middle-school thing to do but…I just was so _mad_."

"So naturally you had to tell Rachel Berry that you're dating me." Blaine said sarcastically. He was actually smiling.

"She was gloating her love in my face!"

"What?" He laughed, a more entertained look on his face than bewildered.

"Look, it's just one person. I'll see her when I go home on Friday and tell her that we've 'broken up' or whatever. I just hope that she won't tell anyone else about this."

But of course, this is Rachel Berry we are talking about.

A minute later my phone started ringing again.

**Incoming call from Home**

"Hello?"

"Kurt?"

"Dad?'

"And Carol!" she said from the background. "Finn too…but his mouth is full."

"Mmmfrrgghh Ghhrtt." …that must be Finn.

"Am I on speakerphone?"

"Kurt, you didn't tell us!" Carol said.

"Who's Blaine?" Burt asked.

_No._

My eyes widened in terror. Time actually seemed to be in slow motion as I looked at Blaine to see him slowly react to my horrified demeanor.

"_What_?"

"We just hung up on Rachel, apparently you've been in a relationship for the past month." Oh god, Dad, no. No, this isn't happening. _No no no no no no no_.

"Kurt, are you like allergic to phone calls or something?" Blaine asked from across the room. I didn't answer him. All I did was cradle my face in one hand and hold the phone to my ear with the other.

"Oh, she told you?" My voice was shaking.

"Yeah, we just told you that hon', why didn't you tell us?" Carol inquired.

"I…I um…I…_I…_"

"He's not some psycho killer is he, Kurt?" my dad asked.

Not that I know of.

Well great. Now I _really _can't tell the truth. I'm not going to explain to my parents and _Finn_ about why I lied to Rachel.

"No, no h—he's not. He's great, awesome even. The best boyfriend ever." I said, hoping that my hysterics came off as excitement. Blaine's attention was successfully caught when I said this. His mouth practically fell open.

"Well what are his plans for Christmas?" Burt asked.

"…_what_?"

"Christmas. You know…Santa Claus. Baby Jesus. Trees in living rooms."

"Yes, dad, I know what Christmas is…" I looked up and make eye contact with Blaine. "I don't know what his plans are." Blaine continued to stare at me.

"You don't know? You've been dating for how long?" Burt replied.

"NOTHING." Blaine yelled, out of the blue, loud enough to be picked up by my phone's receiver. "I DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS FOR CHRISTMAS."

"Is that him?" Carol asked, very excitedly. "Oh, Kurt, put him on speaker!"

What is he _doing_?

"No, no that's not Blaine. That's the TV."

"IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT THE TV." Blaine yelled again. I'm going to strangle him. I mouthed a very angry 'What the hell?' to which he replied by getting up and joining me on my sofa. "GO AHEAD, PUT ME ON SPEAKER, HONEY."

_Honey?_ Seriously?

I've been conquered. I reluctantly pressed the speaker button on my iPhone, putting the phone on the coffee table in front of me.

"Mr. Hummel?" Blaine said with a big stupid smile of his face. "How are you doing today, sir?"

"Sir? I like this kid." We heard Burt murmur in the background. "I'm doing great Blaine, I miss my son, but I'm good nonetheless."

"How are you, Blaine?" Carol inquired.

"I'm doing very well, thank you. A bit sad though, since Kurt's leaving me on Friday." I looked up at him, noticing the mischievous glint in his eye. "I'm going to miss him terribly."

"What are your plans for the Holidays, Blaine?" Burt asked.

"Oh nothing much really. I was just going to stay here at the apartment and look after our…dog…" Since when do we own a freaking dog?

I! I mean I! I'm the only one who owns this apartment, goddamn it! Blaine suddenly had to cover his mouth, almost bursting at the seams with laughter.

"Wait a minute, hold the phone." Finn said. "You guys are _living _together?"

"We aren't—" I was interrupted by Blaine's hand over my mouth, too shocked to shoo him away. Blaine has never touched me before. It was then that I finally noticed how close we were sitting on the couch. I was dazed for a few seconds, just sitting there while Blaine's hand was still over my lips.

"I actually just moved in the other day."

Well at least there was _some _truth to that.

"Kurt, I can't believe you never told us about Blaine. He sounds delightful! God, I'm so glad you found someone to be with, especially during this season." Carol said.

"Yeah…well..." I said as I finally was able to get Blaine's hand off my face.

"Blaine, aren't you spending your Christmas with your family?" my dad said.

"They're…not available." Blaine replied very bluntly. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"Your _whole _family isn't available?" Burt asked.

"Yes."

"Well, Blaine, you're more than welcome to join us for Christmas." Carol said.

"HE CAN'T." I yelled without thinking. "I mean…he um…Finn sleeps in the guest bedroom doesn't he? He won't have anywhere to stay."

"Nonsense, Kurt. You _do _live together. I'm sure you can share your old bedroom for a couple of nights." My stepmother replied.

"As long as I don't hear any funny business going on in there." My father just had to say that.

"Wow, that's incredibly nice of you to offer. I would love to!" Blaine said as scooted closer to me and once again planted his hand over my mouth. "That would mean so much to me and Kurt, right babe?" I couldn't respond because he refused to move his hand. "Oh my _god_, he's speechless. You should see this. He's so overcome with emotion—he looks like he's going to cry."

Oh I'm overcome with emotion all right.

"Well, honey, I'm so glad to hear that." Carol said.

"Okay, well I'm sorry to say that we have to go. I surprised Kurt with dinner reservations to this really special new place around the block. But I'm really looking forward to meeting you in person."

"We are too. And hey, Blaine?" Burt said.

"Yes?"

"Take care of Kurt, will ya?"

"Will do, sir."

I squirmed again, trying to get out of Blaine's grip. He held me tighter and successfully muffled the noises that I was trying to make loud.

"Bye."

"Bubye."

Blaine ended the call and placed the phone back on the table. I threw his arms off of me, jumping off the couch.

"WHAT THE HELL, BLAINE."

"What? You told them I was your boyfriend. I was just going along with it." He replied with a chuckle.

"I could have handled that perfectly fine by myself, thank you! Now I have to drag you back to Ohio with me and introduce _you – a hobo – _to my whole family and UGH. I do _not _need this stress right now."

"Well hey, desperate times call for desperate measures."

"What are you talking about?" I spat back at him.

"Next week is Christmas."

"_and_."

"_And _I didn't have a place to stay did I?"

Oh. Okay. Well now I feel like an ass.

I let out a huff as I walked out of the room. "You're lucky it's the holidays, Blaine."

**Bet you didn't see that one coming, did ya? ...or maybe you did. I'm sorry again for this chapter being so late. Life happened. God, I hate life, don't you? Oh well. **

**Reviews would be deeply, deeply appreciated. I love you all!**

**Oh and there's a little poll on my profile. **

**Oh! and thanks to liz-loz for beta-ing. **

**Okay I'm done now. **


	5. Chapter 5 The No Sex Rule

**There was a lot of writer's block involved in the making of this chapter. I knew that I definitely wanted to write a chapter about their journey to Ohio, I just wasn't positive about how I was going to go about doing so. Therefore, there are some fluffy parts that seem incredibly insane. But I promise you, I am not on crack.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Please please please<em>, Jackie, _please please please_."

"Kurt, that doesn't make me want to help you, that just makes me want to slap you in the face." She said as she walked around the room, trying to busy herself.

"_Jackie_."

"I don't understand why you need to take _my _car."

"Because mine is all the way in Lima and god knows that I can't afford to buy two round trip plane tickets to Ohio." I said, stopping her pacing by putting my arms on her shoulders. "Jackie, _please_."

"God, Kurt, you're not even wearing a shirt for Christ's sake." She said, gesturing towards my chest. We had just finished the 2 PM show and were currently in the process of changing out of our leotards.

"Well," I said, looking down at my half naked body, "is it working as like…persuasion or something?"

"_How _would you being half naked persuade me to let you borrow my car?"

"I smell good?"

"FINE." She said abruptly, flinging my hands off of her and putting her jeans on angrily.

"Really?"

"Yes, whatever."

Phew, at least this is one less thing I have to worry about. "Oh, thank you Jackie!"

"_But_ only under one condition." She said, pointing a finger in the air.

"What?"

"You will not, absolutely under _any_ circumstances, have sex in my vehicle. Do you understand me?"

I laughed at her, my smile starting to fade when I noticed she was actually serious.

"Jack—"

"And when I say sex, I mean _any _kind of sex. There will be absolutely no orgasms of any kind in my Nissan Versa this week or so help me god, I will wipe my vagina over everything that you consider precious when you least expect it."

"Holy shit, Jackie."

"These are the terms of agreement, Hummel. Take it or leave it."

"You actually think that I would have _sex_ in your _car_?"

"Oh, don't act like it's some kind of barbarian ritual, Kurt. People do it all the time, Especially on road trips!"

"Yeah, weird people! Freaky, horny, sketchy people!"

"Then say you won't do it and we're golden!"

"Why would I have sex in your car?"

"We both know why you would have sex in my car, Kurt. I'm a bit annoyed with the fact that you actually want me to address it."

"Fine, I will not have any sex in your car, happy?"

"Very."

We finished getting dressed and headed out the stage door, rushing down the sidewalks, both eager to get out of the cold.

"I mean it Kurt," Jackie said before we went our separate ways. "If I find _one _mysterious stain…"

"_Oh my god_, Jackie. We're in public."

* * *

><p>"Which one is her car?" Blaine asked as he looked out the apartment window to the street below. It Friday afternoon, the day when I was supposed to make my way back home.<p>

"The silver Nissan Versa." I replied, dragging my two duffel bags into the living room. Blaine hummed in response, squinting out the window. "Are you all packed?"

He chuckled and pointed to his guitar case in the corner. Sitting on top of it was a used white shopping bag with a few pieces of clothing inside.

"Oh my god. I totally forgot that you own next-to-no clothing. What are we going to do?"

"Laundry?"

"You can't just wear the same clothes over and over again while we're there. People will know that something is up. I obviously could never date someone who doesn't have impeccable hygiene, let alone a good sense of fashion."

"Thanks for the compliment, Kurt."

"I mean it in the nicest way possible, Blaine." I said as I tapped my finger to my chin in concentration. "We'll just have to get you some clothes on the way."

"What? No, Kurt I—"

"I can't let you wear your own clothes, Blaine. It'll throw everything off."

"You can't just like me for my personality?"

"You can't just let me get you good clothes?"

"Oh, so now my clothes aren't _good _clothes?"

"Not necessarily, no."

"Again, Kurt, thank you. I'm blushing." He responded, words dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm serious, Blaine! I'm not going to let you call yourself my boyfriend when you're wearing clothes from Goodwill."

"Last time I checked, the purpose of clothes was to cover your body and keep you warm. Fashion isn't that essential."

"That is so _offensive_." I whispered, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What?"

"_I want to kill you right now_."

"Are you insane?"

"Are _you _insane? Just let me get you new clothes, damn it!"

"Kurt—no."

"God, you are like the most stubborn, _autonomous_ homeless man on the planet!" I said harshly, putting a hand to my forehead and taking a calming breath. "Let's just go. We'll figure it out on the way."

Blaine's expressions softened as I let out an annoyed breath. I went to reach for my luggage but he moved in front of me, grabbing the handles.

"I got it" he said.

I gave him a questioning stare as he hoisted one of the bags over his shoulder and gestured towards the door. I grabbed Jackie's keys and grabbed Blaine's guitar before opening the door because – well – two could play at that game.

We rode the elevator in silence. I could feel Blaine's eyes on me, but I didn't make eye contact and instead decided to stare at a very interesting water stain on the ceiling of the elevator. As we walked back onto the streets of New York I realized that this was the first time Blaine had been out of the building since he saw Wicked a couple of nights ago. I wasn't really sure how I felt about that. I finally let myself glance at him while he put our things in the trunk. He had his brow furrowed in thought, closing the trunk door absent mindedly.

Three minutes later I was gripping the wheel in frustration, pulling out of the parking space and inching my way into the street. I hated New York City traffic with a burning passion. It's the whole reason why I don't keep my car here with me in the first place. It's just so damn annoying and too easy to get into an accident. I'd always rather use the subway and walk than drive around this giant maze.

The traffic was especially bad this morning, and I clenched my jaw in an attempt to muffle the frustration of having to step on the brakes every three seconds.

"Are you mad at me?"

Blaine's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "What?"

"You seem like you're mad at me."

"I—" I analyzed my demeanor; the jaw clenching, my grip on the wheel, the many sighs that I'd let out in the past five minutes. "I'm not mad at you…I'm mad at the city."

"You're mad…at the city."

"Yes, the city." There was a silence as Blaine tried to decipher what I meant. Hell, _I_ was trying to decipher what I meant.

"For producing aggravating homeless men like me?"

"What?" An slightly amused smile crept onto my lips. "No, I…" I glanced from the road to see Blaine look at me with hopeful eyes. "Traffic."

Blaine smirked. "Traffic" he echoed, looking at the traffic in front of us.

I focused my eyes back on the road, turning onto 7th avenue. "Oh, there's a GPS in the glove compartment. Can you get it out for me?"

"Sure." He said, opening the drawer and pulling out the device. "Lima Ohio, right?"

"Yeah," I replied, glancing back at him, shocked. "you remember?"

"Remembered what?"

"That I'm from Lima."

"Of course." He replied, like it was obvious.

"Wow, you must have a really good memory."

The GPS sprang to life as Blaine perched it on the stand attached to the dashboard. "No. I um…I'm from Westerville."

"Ohio?"

"Yeah."

"Well, why didn't you tell me? That's awesome!" I said excitingly, before really thinking about it. "…well not really. Ohio is kind of a shitty place to live. At least Lima is."

"Depends on who you know, I guess." Blaine shifted in his seat, crossing his arms. He looked a little uncomfortable at the subject, so I decided to leave it alone…for now. "Did you have a lot of friends in high school?" he asked.

"Yes, I guess you could say that. I mean, I had a lot of friends but I wasn't really close with any of them besides Rachel and my other friend Mercedes."

"Rachel as in the one who thinks we're sleeping together, Rachel?"

"I—I…umm." Oh god, he can't mention things similar to us sleeping together and expect me to be coherent enough to give a reasoned answer. "Rachel, yes, her."

"Hmm." He seemed amused, becoming more comfortable with the conversation. Of course, when he's comfortable I'm usually the one who's left a stuttering, blubbery mess.

The GPS directed us to the Lincoln Highway, which led to the Holland Tunnel, a highway that runs under the Hudson River. "This road always makes me nervous."

"Me too. Something about being under a body of water just does not sit well with me." I replied.

"Right? I feel like a wave of water is going to come crashing in the distance and I'll die a terrible untimely death."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about that, but thank you for the images."

* * *

><p>Soon enough we were out of the tunnel, getting on I-80, beginning our 11 hour drive to Lima Ohio. A top-40s radio station played in the background while I drove. Blaine, of course, didn't really know any of the recent hits. I hummed along to some of them, singing under my breath.<p>

"You should sing louder." Blaine said, out of nowhere.

"I should sing louder?"

"Mhmm."

I laughed a bit skeptically. "Why?"

"Because I'd rather listen to you than whoever this is." Blaine said, gesturing towards the radio. "Besides, I've never heard you sing."

"So let me get this straight." I said, putting my blinker on as I moved one lane to the left. "You want me to sing the _Party Rock Anthem _from _LMFAO, _because you'd rather listen to me than DJ Redfoo?"

"Is that who this is?" I nodded. "LMFAO…as the same people who sing 'Shots'?"

"I don't know if you can call that _singing_, but yes, they are the same people."

"Well, I would still love to hear you sing."

"Well you'll just have to wait until a decent song comes on." I replied, flashing Blaine my best teasing smile.

"I will be counting the minutes." He said with a charming grin.

About an hour later the station was filled with static, and we were no longer able to get a good connection. I turned the knob, shutting off the radio entirely.

"Oh dear god, thank you." Blaine mumbled. I looked over at him, where he had an arm over his eyes lazily, slouching back in his seat.

I laughed. "You could have told me to turn it off a long time ago, I wouldn't have argued."

"Driver gets radio rights." He said, shrugging.

"Well you have rights to my radio _anytime_ you please." Blaine looked at me for a moment before bursting into laughter. "…that did not come out the way I wanted it to."

"Yes, I'm sure." Blaine replied as he continued to chuckle. He lifted the lever at the side of his seat, making the back of chair tilt back. I watched him get comfortable out of the corner of my eye as he sighed in comfort. The hoodie he was wearing said "SAC STATE". I had never noticed that before.

"Where did you get that sweatshirt?"

Blaine looked down, reading the green words. "Oh, Sacramento State University. My brother graduated from there."

My brow furrowed at the mention of his brother. He's never talked about his family to me before and I was very curious since he had dubbed them 'unavailable' for the holidays. "You have a brother?"

"Yes, I do. And a sister."

"Are they still in Westerville?"

"One of them is, yes."

"With your parents?"

"I would assume so." He answered with a sigh.

"Do you not want to talk about this?"

"No, not at all."

Well, okay. My eyebrows raised and I pulled my attention back to the road to concentrate on driving. "Family is a sore spot, duly noted."

Blaine didn't respond, instead he continued to stare out the window, reading the various billboards that went by.

"Do you know 'The Chorus Line?"

"…yes?" he replied, confused.

"Do you still want to hear me sing?"

"Yes."

I cleared my throat before singing, "_Hello tweeeelve…"_ raising my eyebrows while I looked at him, waiting for him to join me. He just stared at me, waiting for me to continue. "_Hello twelve…_" I repeated.

"OH. You – you want me to sing with you. Okay."

I smiled before repeating, yet again. "_Hello twelve…_"

"_Hello thirteen…_"

"_Hello looooove…_"

"_Changes ohhhh, down below_…"

"_Up aboooove._"

Blaine's eyes shot up as I sang in my higher register. "Wow." He said.

"What?"

"Your voice is very nice. Like, it's really unique and… _wow._"

"_TIIIIIME to doubt." _I sang, smiling at his compliment.

"_To break out!"_

"_It's a mess." _

"_It's a mess!" _

"_Time to grow, time to go, adolesce."_

He joined me at the adolesce, then we both sang together. "_Too young to take over, too old to ignore!_"

"_Gee, I'm almost ready!_" Blaine sang.

"_But what for?_" we sang. "_There's a lot I am not certain of. Hello Twelve, hello thirteen, hello love!_"

Blaine mimicked a piano part comically with his fingers, humming the melody before I sang again.

"_Goodbye twelve!_"

"_Goodbye thirteen, hello !" _

"_Robert Guilet! Robert Guilet! MY GOD, ROBERT GUILET!" _I sing/shouted, causing Blaine to break into laughter. "_Down below, up abooooooooooooooooove!_"

"_Playing doctor with Evelyn_." He sang back, still beaming and nudging me in the shoulder. I'm not really sure what that nudge was for, but…okay.

"_La la la._"

He tapped me on the shoulder again, causing me to look away from the road and back at his charming grin. "_I'll show you mine!_"

"_La la._"

"_You show me yours?_" Well, shit.

"_La la._" I sang, a bit sheepishly this time because…umm…he just sang about us showing each other our penises. "_Seeing_ _daddy_…_NAKED_! _Time to grow, time to go! La la laaaaaaa._"

"_MOM AND DAD WERE DOIN IT!_" Then it was my turn to laugh hysterically.

We both finished, glancing toward each other, smiling as we sang.  
>"<em>There's a lot I am not certain oooooooof.<br>Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love.  
>Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello LOOOOOOOVE<em>."

"Oh god, that song is _so _inappropriate." I laughed, putting my hand up to my mouth.

"Hey, it was your idea." Blaine sighed happily. "Though I'm ninety-percent sure you chose that song just so I could sing about 'showing you mine'."

"Oh really?" I said, hoping that I wasn't blushing as bad as it felt like I was. "Is that your theory? I could have just been trying to lift your spirits."

"Yes, I am absolutely certain."

"Well in that case I have a confession to make." Blaine's attention perked as he sat up in his seat. "I like to trick hobos into coming into my home just so I can sneak them back to Ohio and take advantage of them. It's like a yearly tradition for me."

Blaine let out an amused breath.

"Some people volunteer at soup kitchens…I…kidnap hobos." Okay, maybe this joke is a bit farfetched.

Blaine laughed nonetheless. "That…sounds like a fun hobby? I'm not one to judge so…"

"Good, because my father's a cannibal."

"WHAT?"

"OH GOD, did I seriously just say that? I—that was a joke, I swear. A really, really, really stupid joke. I must have misplaced my filter or something. That was supposed to stay safely inside my thirteen-year-old mind." I replied, mortified.

"Suddenly the song choice makes a lot more sense."

I laughed nervously, turning the radio back on. "I'm just going to stop talking now."

* * *

><p>Three hours later I was still driving. My left leg was asleep and <em>god<em>, and it was taking all of my strength not to let my eyes fall shut. It was eight-o-clock, the sky was dark and Blaine was sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat.

There were several things that I needed; one, to move, because my left leg had been asleep and numb from the thigh down for the past half an hour. Two, something to do about Blaine's clothes situation. And three, coffee, because…well coffee doesn't need an explanation – ever.

A green sign appeared in the distance that read "**MALL **EXIT 34B".

I smiled brightly as I switched into the right lane, getting off at the next right. I slowed the car down tenderly, hoping the turns wouldn't wake Blaine up. However, my efforts were proved futile.

"_RECALCULATING ROUTE_" blared the motherfucking GPS as I turned off of the highway.

"Damn it!" I muttered under my breath, looking over at Blaine to see him waking up.

"What happened?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Go back to sleep." I said, pulling into the mall parking lot with a faint hope that Blaine wouldn't notice.

"Why are we at a mall, Kurt?" Blaine asked, his voice low.

"I need coffee."

"So why didn't you just stop at a gas station?"

"I really like Starbucks."

Blaine looked at me incredulously as I parked the car. "I know what you're doing, and I do not like it."

"I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about." I said, in the most innocent voice I could muster.

* * *

><p>I looked around for a directory as soon as we entered the mall. When I found one I immediately looked under the food category.<p>

"Starbucks, level B." I read out loud, "Let's go."

"Wait, we're seriously here for coffee?"

"Well what did you think we were here for?"

"Oh, very funny." Blaine said sarcastically as we began walking down the lane to the other side of the mall. The place was extremely crowded, Christmas was only a couple of days away and the place was filled to the brim with last-minute shoppers. Blaine and I ended up walking shoulder to shoulder to avoid bumping into other people.

There's something about girls who shop at the mall, especially the ones who go in packs. When they see someone that they would call 'hot', they'll huddle around with their friends and ever-so-discreetly point a finger towards the subject. I began to enjoy the fact that Blaine was with me. I'd never necessarily been the one to have a handsome man on my arm. Every couple of minutes a group would pass by, raising their eyebrows at Blaine and then looking towards me, as if to assess me as well. I walked with my head held high, basking in their jealous glares. It felt nice, even though Blaine wasn't really who they assumed him to be.

We ended up getting dinner along with my coffee. Of course, Blaine tried to pick the cheapest thing he could find, to which I replied;

"Oh my god Blaine, I am not buying you a cheeseburger from McDonalds. Just…_no_." I said, dragging him with me to the Subway across the food court, and forcing him to order a foot-long.

"So we should probably go over your whole identity thing before we get to Lima." I said, nibbling on my veggie sandwich.

"Identity?"

"When I was on the phone with my Rachel, I kind of told her that you go to Columbia."

"You said _what_?"

"Well, yeah, I mean…I was under a high pressure situation. She asked which school you went to and Columbia just popped right out of my mouth."

"You couldn't have said, I don't know, _he doesn't go to school?_."

"Fine, jeeze, you don't have to be so condescending about it."

"Sorry." He mumbled, "Living in New York has been rubbing off on me."

"Right? The people here are kind of assholes. Well – maybe not all of them, but they're very blunt." We both took another bite of our sandwiches, the sound of a busy food court filling the silence between us. "How long have you been living in the city?"

"Um…almost a year, since February."

"Ahh, so you're still a newbie." I replied. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, so back to the identity thing. You're a songwriter, going to Columbia University full time for music education…and…"

"Composition. And maybe music management."

I nodded, picking at a loose pepper in my sandwich.

"I also work part time at the Virgin Records in Times Square as a stock boy."

"Wow." I reply. "That's…actually perfect.

Blaine smiles and finishes off his sandwich.

"Now all we have to do is figure out what you're going to wear."

Blaine's smile disappears.

* * *

><p>"Hey, don't look so guilty. It's the week of Christmas, there are tons of sales."<p>

"Still."

"Oh, get over it." I say, then getting distracted by an _adorable _cardigan. "Ooo!"

"Something tells me that you like to shop."

"Are you kidding me? The word 'like' doesn't even _begin_ to explain my infatuation with shopping. Adore would be a better adjective."

"Hmm." Blaine replied, busy looking at a rack of denim jeans.

"Why, you don't like to shop?"

"No, I love to shop." Blaine said, picking up a pair and holding them up to his waist. "Just not with other people's money."

"That's understandable." I said, holding up a simple cotton knit sweater with a dark blue stripe running through it. "How about this?"

"I like it." He said, smirking at the item.

"Of course you do, I picked it out." Blaine laughed, and I pointed towards the jeans he was holding. "You should get a couple of pairs of those, they'll look good on you."

Three cardigans, four jeans, two sweaters, and a jacket later we were moving on to the next store. We agreed that he could use my undershirts and tees, since nobody would notice if those were mine or not.

"One-hundred-twenty- five dollars and forty-six cents," He sighed as we left H&M.

"Seriously, Blaine, don't worry about it. Really, it's my gift to you."

"Yes, but I can't give _you _a gift."

"And I don't expect you to."

"But-"

"You know what would be an excellent Christmas present, Blaine?" I said as I stopped walking, turning to face him.

"What?"

"You being a great pretend boyfriend to my family and friends. Then I will be eternally grateful for your presence."

Blaine smiled charmingly, looking me in the eyes. "I can do that."

"Good." I breathed, mesmerized by the golden hues in his eyes. "That, and you not bullshitting about costs anymore. Let's go, Banana Republic is calling."

We bought our last items an hour later and decided to leave the mall.

"Oh my god," I said as I got back into the driver's seat and started the car. "Is it seriously ten-thirty?"

"I guess time flies when you're having fun."

"Well, yes, but we still have about 5 hours of driving left."

"I can drive, you know."

"You can?"

"Yes, I can."

"You have a license?"

"Kurt, I haven't been homeless my whole life. This is still a relatively new thing for me."

"I um…I'm not sure if Jackie would be comfortable with you driving her car."

"You're probably right. But you should still let me know if you can't stay awake, because I think me driving for an hour or two would be better than us driving off the road."

"Very true. I'll be sure to let you know."

* * *

><p>Two hours later left us at midnight.<p>

**Incoming call from Jackie**

"Hello?" I said.

"Hi Kurt."

"Hello Jackie."

"How's my baby?"

"Hands on the wheel, Kurt!" Blaine yelled from next to me. I rolled my eyes, putting the iPhone in a phone holder that was attached to Jackie's dashboard and turning on the speaker option.

"Your baby is doing fantastic."

"Good to hear, good to hear." Jackie replied. "Is she thirsty?"

Blaine and I smiled at her terminology. "No, she shouldn't be. I filled her up an hour ago."

"Did you ask her?"

"She's still near the F, so I'm taking that as a sign that she's not very thirsty."

"Alright. You haven't mentally scarred her, have you?" she asked.

"What?"

"_Did you and Blaine have sex in my car, Kurt_."

"JACKIE!" I yelled as Blaine let out a surprised chuckle.

"We both know how attracted you are to that 'sex god', as you so deliberately called him the other night."

"Jackie, _please _shut up." I replied, utterly mortified, gripping the steering wheel way too tight. I've never despised her so much in my life.

"Oh god, am I on speaker?" Jackie suddenly realized with a small laugh.

"Hi Jackie." Blaine said from his side of the car. I could practically hear the huge grin on his face that I dared not look at.

"Hi Blaine. I would tell you that I was just kidding, but it's probably too late for that now." She laughed again.

"This is not funny! I don't know why you're laughing!" I said, keeping my eyes at an extreme focus on the road.

"It's actually pretty funny." Blaine laughed.

"Wow, I can actually feel the hate that Kurt is sending me radiating from my iPhone right now." Jackie said. "I feel so despicable."

"Goodbye Jackie." I said as I pressed the end call button.

There was an extremely awkward silence in the car.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I could hear the amusement in Blaine's voice.

"No, I do not want to talk about it."

**I apologize for the extreme randomness of this chapter. The song that they sung in the car is "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love" from The Chorus Line. My other story Then We Got on a Boat is now finished so I have a lot more time to work on this fic. There will probably be updates a lot more often...**

**...no promises though. **

**REVIEW! (:**


	6. Chapter 6 Fuzzy Pink Pajama Pants

**I know this chapter is kind of late…yet again. But, I think it's one of the best yet and it's definitely the longest. It would have been here sooner, but I was just feeling like complete shit the other week, and a shitty mood isn't the best mood for writing humor.**

* * *

><p>Everything became ten times more awkward for me after the phone call. I didn't allow myself to even glance at Blaine's side of the car for a good hour. I broke the silence around 1:30 AM and asked Blaine if he could take over driving, despite the fact that it probably wouldn't have been deemed okay by Jackie. He agreed, of course, happily climbing over to the driver's seat as I went around the car.<p>

"I miss this." he said, after he had been driving for a good five minutes. I glanced over at him from where I was slouching in the seat, trying to get comfortable.

"What?"

"Driving."

"Oh." A wave of drowsiness came over me as I tucked my arm under my head, leaning against the side of the car. "Just don't drive off the road."

"Yes, because that sounds like a fun thing to do."

I didn't respond, opting to just stare out my window and watch the moon flicker through the passing trees.

"Are you excited to go back home?"

"Of course I am." There was another few minutes filled with nothing but the sound of the engine as he drove.

"We should probably get to know more about each other." he said, I could tell that he was trying to put an end to the awkward silences. "You know, since we're supposed to be in a serious relationship and all."

"A serious relationship." I echoed. "Is that what this is?"

"Well we _have _been dating for over a month." Blaine said playfully as he looked over at me.

"Okay, how about this?" I sat up in my seat. "You ask me a question, I answer it, and then you answer the same question. So on and so forth."

"Sounds fair enough." Blaine was silent for a moment while he thought. "Have you lived in Lima your whole life?"

"Yes, straight from birth." I replied. "I've lived in a few different houses in the area, but always in Lima. How about you?"

"My family moved from Virginia to Westerville when I was five."

"Did you like it?"

"Westerville?" I nodded. "Um, yes. I did. I had some really great friends at school who were like brothers to me."

I tried to imagine Blaine with a bunch of friends hanging out at the movies or something. The more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder how they could allow him to be living on the streets of New York at the age of 22. That is, if they know about it.

"What about you?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Well, no. I hated Lima. I was dying to get out. The only reason I was able to get through it was because of my high school Glee club."

"You were in a Glee club?"

"Yes, yes I was."

Blaine began to smile, I could practically hear what was going through his head.

"Before you go judging me, we were actually pretty good. We made tenth place at nationals in my senior year."

"Who said I was judging you?" he asked.

"You were smiling."

"I'm not allowed to smile?"

"No, no you're not." I told him with a grin.

"Well, for the record, I was not judging you."

"Whatever you say." I shifted around in the seat so that I was curled towards the driver's seat instead of the window, watching Blaine as he drove. "What is your favorite food?"

"French Toast."

"French Toast..." I echoed thoughtfully, "that's a good one."

"What about you?"

"Red velvet cake…and Nutella."

"_And _Nutella?"

"Well not actually on the cake, no, like as in separate foods. Nutella on toast is purely marvelous."

"So if we had French Toast with Nutella on it, what would happen?"

"Well I think the two foods would have no choice but to start a fake relationship with each other, obviously."

"Of course, right after the French Toast blackmails the lonely Nutella into bringing him home with him." Blaine continued.

"French Toast is freaking crazy." I murmured, smiling when I heard Blaine's laughter fill the car.

* * *

><p>At 3:23 AM we finally reached Lima. I turned off the GPS and directed Blaine through the roads, telling him where to turn. There was a comforting and almost warm feeling of being home that spread through me as we passed the familiar houses and buildings.<p>

"This is it!" I said excitedly as we pulled onto my street.

My cheerfulness about being home overwhelmed the sleepiness, causing me to bounce a little in my seat as Blaine pulled into the driveway. As soon as he turned off the car, I looked up to see the front door opening. Burt walked onto the porch, pulling on his coat while he closed the door behind him.

I immediately unbuckled my seat belt, opening the passenger door and hurrying out of the car. "Dad!" I yelped as I rushed forward, my feet hitting the crunchy snow. We met in the middle of the lawn, Burt pulling me in for a huge hug. I closed my eyes and reveled in the embrace of my father, who I had missed so much. If there was one thing that I absolutely hated about living in New York, it was that I wasn't able to see my dad.

"I've missed you, Bud."

"I missed you too Dad."

I heard the sound of a car door close behind me as we pulled apart. Blaine walked over a bit awkwardly, putting his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"You must be Blaine." Burt said, studying my 'boyfriend'.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Hummel." Blaine replied, reaching his hand out to shake my dad's gloved one.

"Call me Burt." He looked at the car behind Blaine. "That your car?"

"No, dad, that's my friend Jackie's car. She let us borrow it for the trip down here. Blaine insisted on taking over the driving a couple of hours ago so that I could get some rest."

Now was as good a time as any to start the big illusion, so I moved to stand close to Blaine. He responded almost automatically, reaching his hand down and interlacing his fingers with mine at his side.

"Well that's very thoughtful of you, Blaine." Burt said, nodding towards him and eyeing our clasped hands. I yelped internally as I felt Blaine's thumb rub the side of my palm. Good god, it's going to take some time to get used to this. "C'mon, let's get you guys inside. It's freezing out here."

I couldn't help the bright smile that was on my face as we walked through the front door, the familiar smell of home engulfing my senses, taking off my jacket as we stood in the hallway.

"Have you been up this whole time?" I asked, noticing that the TV was on in the living room.

"Well yeah, my son was coming home. I wanted to wait for him."

"Aww, Dad, you didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it." Burt replied, turning back for the door again. "Blaine, do you want to help me with the luggage?"

Blaine reached a hand out to stop my dad from opening the door. "Oh, no, I'll take care of it Mr. Hum…Burt."

"You sure? It'll take two minutes."

"I'm positive, you've already stayed up half the night, and I'd feel terrible if I let you carry my bags too."

"Go to bed, Dad." I chimed in, gently pushing him upstairs. "Blaine and I will be fine. Say hello to Carol for me?"

"Sure thing, Kurt." he said as he gave in, softly patting up the stairwell. "It's nice to meet you, Blaine."

"You too, Mr. Hummel—I mean Burt."

"I'll see you two in the morning. And oh," he said, turning around. "No monkey business."

Why does everyone think that I'm going to jump Blaine's bones as soon as I'm alone with him? I cackled a bit at his words, taking a moment to cough and compose myself.

"Right, yes. Of course."

I motioned for Blaine to come with me down the hall, towards the basement steps. As soon as we made it to my old bedroom, Blaine burst into a fit of silent giggles.

"Monkey business." He repeated amusedly.

"Oh shut up and get our stuff."

Blaine left the room and I decided to look through my old clothes for some pajamas. I pulled out a pair of pink pants that Rachel had got me about three years ago out of my dresser, smiling as I remembered her forcing me to put them on at one of our sleepovers.

"_They're cute!" Rachel said. _

"_Where the hell did you even get these, 'Limited Too'?" _

"…_well yeah, that's where I get all my clothing."_

_I gaped at her, letting the hand that held the pink pajama pants fall to my side. "Suddenly, it all makes sense." _

"_Just give them a chance Kurt. I mean look at them, they're so __**soft**__."_

_I gave them another look, gasping in horror when I saw jewels on the butt in the shape of a monkey. _

"_What?" _

"_Just because I'm gay, doesn't mean I'm willing to wear __**anything **__that's bejeweled." _

I snapped out of my reminiscence, a fun idea popping into my head. I laid the pink pajama pants on the bed and pulled out a normal pair of black yoga pants, changing into them before Blaine got back. I had just pulled my shirt off a moment before he walked in. He stood in the doorway, shopping bags in his hands and my two suitcases slung over his shoulders. I could feel his eyes on me as I rummaged through my dresser, searching for a shirt.

By the time I had a tank top on; I turned my head to find that he was still in the doorway, blatantly staring at my ass.

"May I help you?"

Blaine snapped his gaze off of my rear, his cheeks turning slightly pink as he dropped the bags and suitcases on the ground. "Yeah, I was um…nice room." he mumbled.

"Right." I said cynically as I walked towards him slowly, raising an eyebrow and studying his reaction. He swallowed as he watched me move closer, a look of uncertainty in his eye – his feet glued to the spot where he was standing. I stopping in front of him, reveling in the way that he seemed to be holding his breath, before smirking and bending down to zip open my suitcase. I swear I could hear a slight whimper come out of him as I grabbed my small toiletry case, my ass perched into the air as I closed the suitcase again.

He let out a breath of air and finally moved from where he was standing, going to the other side of the room to sit tentatively on my bed.

"I didn't know you were gay." I said as I pulled small bottles of moisturizer out of the toiletry case and onto my vanity.

"What?" He let out a baffled chuckle, furrowing his brow as he turned to look at my reflection.

"You never told me you were gay."

"I didn't think I had to."

"So you didn't want me to know?" I inquired, more as a statement than a question.

"_No_…it just never came up. What brings the sudden realization that I'm gay?"

"Well, you seemed very fixated on my ass about forty-five seconds ago."

"Okay, yes, I'm gay." Blaine replied, "and most people are generally attracted to 'ass' when it's presented to them."

"I did not _present _my ass to you!"

"Oh _yes_," Blaine said, in mock impersonation. "Let me just subtly take my shirt off to reveal my toned dancer body to you as soon as you walk in the room and then _bend _over – with the speed of a fucking snail – two inches away from you so I can get to my toiletry bag."

"Oh shut up," I spat back, "you loved every second of it."

"Yes, just like you enjoyed every second of cutting my hair."

"_What_?"

"Hah! Not so innocent _now_, are you Hummel?"

I grunted in frustration, picking up the pink pants from the bed and throwing them at him. "Put your pajamas on so we can go to sleep."

"_Fuzzy pink monkey _pants, Kurt?"

"Yeah…well…Last time I checked, the purpose of clothes was to cover your body and keep you warm. Fashion isn't that essential, Blaine." I mimicked him as I grabbed my bottles of moisturizer and gathered them in my arms, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door before he could respond. A smile fought its way onto my face as I began my moisturizing routine. The money I would pay to see the look on his face right now.

Ten minutes later I was finally ready to go to bed. When I walked back into my bedroom, Blaine was under my covers, hugging a pillow as he tried to sleep with the light on.

"Are you actually wearing the pants?"

"My master gave me clothes, so I'm wearing the clothes."

"_Master_?"

"It's four-o-clock in the morning. You shouldn't take anything I do seriously." he muttered, his eyes closed.

I turned off the lights and walked towards the bed, getting under the covers. I lied down on my back, as close to the edge of the bed as possible. I still wasn't very enthusiastic about sleeping next to Blaine. "I can't believe you're _actually _wearing the pants." I mumbled.

The next thing I knew, an arm was snaking around my waist, pulling me closer to the middle of the bed. "You don't have to sleep like that." I heard Blaine mutter. "I'm not going to let you let me take over the bed."

"My god, just leave it alone, will you?" I said under my breath as I shifted around onto my side, resting my head onto my pillow. I felt Blaine's arm around my waist again, and then my whole back was engulfed in his body heat. I tried to just dismiss the odd position, accepting defeat and just going to sleep. Honestly, I was so damn tired and I just didn't want to argue anymore. But it almost felt _too _warm. Like, way too warm. What the…?

I turned my head around to look at Blaine. "OH MY GOD!" I yelped, sitting up and scooting away from him.

"What the hell?"

"_Why aren't you wearing a shirt_?" I whispered harshly, staring at his naked shoulders in the dark.

"Why are you freaking out?"

"_You're not wearing a shirt!_"

"…and?"

"_And _you're not wearing a shirt!"

"Kurt."

"You're not wearing a shiiiiirt. You're shirtless. And you're actually wearing my freaking fuzzy pink pants that Rachel got me, and you're _shirtless_." I rambled on and on, more for my own sake then for his. I really don't know what I was doing at this point, but I just kept going, spewing out the same fact over and over again.

Blaine began to gently shush me, softly pushing on my chest to get me to lie back down. "Shhhh, Kurt. Sleep. You need sleep."

"…but you're shirtless and I'm not and you're half naked while I'm nowhere near naked…" I mumbled tiredly, my eyes closing while I gave into Blaine's hands pushing me back into the bed.

"Yes, yes Kurt, I'm not wearing a shirt. It's okay. We'll be okay. I don't bite, just please go to sleep." He wrapped his arms around me and I couldn't help but relax in the warmth, turning my body in his direction.

"…and my dad said no monkey business and you were staring at my butt and you smell so good…" It was like subconscious word vomit.

"That's it, c'mon, go to sleep." he whispered.

"…didn't know hobos could smell this good…" I nuzzled my nose into the crook of his neck, letting my hand rest on his chest.

I felt the vibrations of a small laugh in his chest. He shushed me again, rubbing the small of my back with his thumb and that was it. I was out like a light. "Goodnight Kurt."

* * *

><p>I woke up to the sound of a vacuum cleaner coming from upstairs. My eyes opened, and the first thing I saw was skin. Not my skin, tanned skin. Well, tanned chest to be exact. I'd been using Blaine's torso as a pillow.<p>

At first I jumped back a little, shocked by the closeness. Then my mind registered the extreme comfort of the position, and I relaxed a little because…this was nice. This was _really _nice. I've never woken up in someone's arms before. My previous experiences had only ever been one-night-stands, and those usually ended with me (or someone else) fleeing in the middle of the night.

I glanced over at the clock on my dresser. It was 2:04 PM, on December 24th, Christmas Eve. We'd slept for a good ten hours. The vacuum that I heard was probably Carol getting the house ready for the family that was arriving later.

I decided that I should probably get up out of bed and go see if Carol needed any help with the cooking and cleaning. I got up slowly, moving gently out of Blaine's arms and trying not to wake him up. He stirred a bit in his sleep, but didn't open his eyes, instead he hugged the pillow that I formally had my head on, as if it were me. It was a bit endearing, and I couldn't help but smile and watch him get comfortable with the pillow.

I made my way up the basement stairs, walking into the kitchen to where I found Carol hovering over the stove.

"Kurt!" she turned around, taking her apron off and running over to give me a hug. "You're awake! It's so good to see you, Honey."

"It's good to see you too!" I said, squeezing her back. "I've missed you guys."

"We've missed you too, Kurt. Lima isn't quite the same without you."

"Oh, stop it." I looked over at the ingredients scattered around the counter. "Need a hand?"

"I would love some help, yes. I'm making this recipe for homemade 'Penne Alla Vodka' and it's sort of overwhelming." I followed her back to the stove, looking into the pots that were sitting over the blue flame. "I've made it before, but that was only for Burt and I, and I'm tripling the recipe."

"Well I'm happy to help."

She handed me a bulb of garlic to mince while she worked on seasoning a pot roast.

"So how is your _Blaine_?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"Oh, he's…good. Asleep."

"Yeah?"

"Yep," I mumbled, trying to take the skin off of a clove of garlic and silently that hoping she would change the subject.

"Tell me about him."

"Umm…" Well, he has no permanent residence, he acquires the ability to grow the beard of a mountain man, and he gets along very well with other homeless people. "There's not really anything to tell…"

"Well what's he like? I mean, is he nice – is he strange – is he shy – does he have nice eyes – is he funny – is he handsome,"

I realized that I wasn't going to be able to get out of the conversation, so I went along with it. "Well, for starters, he's short."

"…okay…"

"He's um…yes, he's nice. He's very nice…and polite. He might actually be the most courteous man in New York City."

Carol's eyebrows rose as she nodded her head in approval. "He sounds very dapper. I like it." I smiled as I remembered what Blaine had said the morning I first found him in my apartment._ "__I've been told that I'm particularly dapper for a homeless guy."_

"Yeah, he's dapper in his own special little way."

"Did someone say Blaine Anderson?"

I jumped a little as I heard his voice come from behind me. He stood in the doorway with the pink pants still on his hips, also wearing a white v-neck t-shirt.

Well isn't this is terrible first impression.

"Oh…hey…_honey_." I said, narrowing my eyes at him while Carol couldn't see my face. Blaine walked over and slid his arm around my waist from behind, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck in passing.

The small romantic gesture completely knocked me off guard and my whole body stiffened as soon as it happened. All I could do was bug my eyes out and try to continue to chop the garlic at a normal rate as Blaine went over to introduce himself. Oh god, I hope that Carol doesn't notice my jumpiness.

"You must be Mrs. Hummel," Blaine said, smiling at Carol as he walked away from me.

"Yes, yes I'm Kurt's stepmom. It's good to finally meet you, Blaine. But please, call me Carol."

"Of course." he responded. "Kurt talks about you guys all the time, it's great to finally see the faces."

Carol smiled appreciatively at that, wiping her hands on a towel next to the sink and turning her attention towards us. "So where did you boys meet?"

"At a bar," Blaine stated, failing to remember that I'm only 20 and I'm sure that my parents wouldn't be fully appreciative of me meeting strange people at bars while I'm underage.

"A sushi bar." I added, just as Carol's brow began to furrow.

"Ohhhh, I see."

"We um…we were set up on a blind date."

"Wow," Carol said. "I've never heard of those things actually working."

_Why, _Blaine. Why did you have to add that?

"Well, what can you say, we found love in a hopeless place." Blaine said as he walked back over to me with this overly gushy look in his eye, putting his arm around my waist again.

Oh my _god_.

"Don't know if you could exactly call New York a hopeless place." I murmured, ducking my head.

Carol looked like she was about to say something, but instead she just looked at us like we were the cutest thing in the world. Apparently, Blaine took that as a sign that he should show me more faux-affection, so he attempted to place a kiss in my hair, which didn't really work considering the fact that he's shorter than me.

"Well I have to make a quick trip upstairs, I'll be right back." Carol said before slipping out of the room and into the hallway.

I pulled away from Blaine as soon as she was out of sight, letting the knife fall out of my hand and back on the cutting board.

"Really, Blaine? You used _Rihanna _to quote our relationship?"

"Hey, I've been trying to keep in touch with the latest music. It was the first thing that popped into my head."

"My god, she's probably going to think that I'm abusive or something."

* * *

><p>The guests were supposed to arrive at the house at 7:00 for dinner. Finn and Burt didn't get home till about 6 PM because they were finishing up some last minute things at the garage. Blaine and I had spent the time prior to that helping Carol out with the meal. Everything was coming out great, and I was very excited to eat. I could tell that Blaine was trying his best not to eat any of the food, but I caught him sneaking small cookies and a few green-beans when he thought no one was looking.<p>

Blaine and I went back down to the basement around 5:45 to get ready, since we were still in our pajamas. I let him use the shower in my bathroom while I used the one upstairs. I figured it would be less weird for everyone that way. When I came back downstairs in a bathrobe 45 minutes later, I was very pleased to find that Blaine had dressed himself very nicely. He wore very dark denim jeans, a red dress shirt, and a grey mock-neck sweater over that. However, my satisfaction disappeared when I noticed that he was in front of my vanity, using 'TRESemmè' gel to plaster his hair to his head.

"Oh my god, portion control!" I said, rushing over to the vanity. "How much gel did you _use_?"

"What? This was the way my dad taught me to do it."

"And who is your father, a clay statue? What the hell, Blaine?" I grabbed a spray water bottle that I kept at my vanity and a towel, doing my best to get as much gel as I could out of his hair.

"You know, you didn't say anything to me when I wore it like this for your show."

"Yes, well you didn't call yourself my boyfriend when you went to see my show either."

"Touché."

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, Kurt! You're so grown up!" Aunt Alice cried as soon I opened the door. She stood on our porch, wearing a pretty blue belted dress with her signature leather jacket and black heels. Her dark hair was tied back and she was holding a plate covered in tin foil. She immediately pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, her partner Molly waving enthusiastically behind her.<p>

"Ally, you saw me in August."

"Yes, and I swear you've grown like…an inch or two, or something!"

I laughed as I took the plate from her, stepping aside so she and Molly could walk in.

"Who's this, Kurt?" Alice asked in a high voice.

I turned around to see Blaine walking slowly into the hallway from the living room, his hands in his pockets. "Oh, th—this is my boyfriend."

Both Molly and Alice's eyebrows went up as they gave Blaine a once-over, suddenly both of them were beaming.

"Hi, I'm Blaine." He said with a warm smile, holding out his hand for Alice to shake.

"Oh, honey," Alice eyed his hand, and then outstretched her arms, pulling Blaine in for a sudden hug. "Hummel's don't do handshakes. Okay, maybe Burt does, but I don't."

"Oh, okay." Blaine hugged Alice back before accepting Molly's awaiting (and slightly awkward) embrace.

"I'm Alice, Kurt's aunt. And this is my lover, Molly."

"Let's keep it clean for the kids, Ally." Burt said as he came down the stairs.

"Oh, please, do you see any kids anywhere, Burt?" Alice replied.

"This coming from the woman who just told me that I've grown up so much."

"Key words being _grown up_, Kurt." She replied.

"How long have you two been together?" Molly asked, the grin on her face bright enough to light a cave.

Blaine and I looked at each other, trying to communicate a comparable answer with our eyes. "About a month," Blaine answered. "…or so…give or take a few weeks."

"Well it looks you've landed yourself a good one, Kurt." Alice said, eyeing Blaine while she took her jacket off. "His sperm would definitely produce some adorable children. Don't you think so, Molly?"

"Oh, yes, definitely." She replied.

I laughed while I looked at Blaine, whose eyes were wide with confusion. "They're in the process of looking for a sperm donor. That's just how they've been talking lately."

He breathed a sigh of relief, no doubt comforted by the fact that he wouldn't be inspected by lesbians in the middle of the night.

"Don't look too comfortable, kid. They might pounce on you when you least expect it." Burt said as he walked down the hallway into the kitchen.

"Don't listen to him," Alice said to Blaine as she passed him to take her plate back from me. "We don't pounce, we have class."

"Although," Molly turned before walking with Alice out of the hallway. "If you're in need of some extra cash, we'd be very interested in your semen."

Blaine sputtered a bit, at a loss for words as he watched them turn the corner. I stood there giggling to myself, very entertained by his bewilderment. If he was _actually _my boyfriend, I'd be extremely embarrassed. But seeing as he's a blackmailing hobo, I have nothing to lose.

"Hmm," Blaine said thoughtfully, his expression changing from confused to mischievous. "I'll have to think about it."

I laughed again. This night was just too comical. "That's funny. You suggested that you would sell your sperm to my aunts."

"I have no idea why you find this funny."

"What, you're not actually thinking about doing it, are you?" I said, my amused demeanor slowly fading. "Oh my god! You're actually thinking about doing it!"

"Times are tough, Kurt."

"No…just…_no_."

"Kurt, Kurt, Kurt…" Blaine said with a fake sympathy, "So quick to judge."

I crossed my arms, looking at him incredulously as I realized that he was joking. "You're hilarious, Blaine. Seriously."

"I still have no idea why you find this funny." Blaine smiled as he started to walk away.

"Very funny, really, you should consider stand up. My sides are splitting."

* * *

><p>About twenty minutes later my uncle Ben and his wife arrived, along with Finn's grandma. Ben and his wife Marie are owners of a small music shop in West Lima. I used to spend hours in that shop, looking through countless Broadway scores and trying my best to play them on the piano.<p>

Finn's grandmother was kind of the spitting image of a crazy old lady. She reminded me a lot of Madame Foster from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

Don't judge, that show was the shit.

The only person we were waiting on was Rachel, who was hopefully fashionably late. I say hopefully because her fashion sense in high school was that of a five year old. _Hopefully _it's improved since then.

The doorbell finally rang, Finn jumping up from his spot on the couch and running to get the door. Surprisingly, he hadn't seemed that invested in Blaine. They barely had two minutes of conversation. Apparently, that was good enough for Finn, so he went back to watching ESPN with Burt.

We all went to the table while Finn greeted Rachel at the door, no doubt kissing each other for a good two minutes afterwards. I had just sat down when I heard Rachel scurry up behind me.

"You must be Blaine!" she said enthusiastically, sticking her hand out for him to shake.

"Um…yes. Hi, it's nice to meet you…"

"Rachel, Rachel Berry. I'm Kurt's best friend."

"Excuse me?" I said, leaning back in my chair to look at her.

"Well, Kurt, you're _my _best friend."

"It's not my fault that you have the social skills of a killer shark."

"So anyways," she said, turning back to Blaine. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you over the next few days."

"Yes…I um…me too?" Blaine said skeptically. Rachel giggled excitedly, flashing Blaine her most winning smile and moving to sit next to Finn, in the seat beside. Blaine sat down on my other side.

Dinner went by quite normally. The conversation was evenly dispersed throughout the table as we all told each other about what was going on in our lives. Blaine answered questions about his life growing up without hesitation. I honestly didn't know whether they were true or just made up on the spot. Despite the bickering that occurred when we were alone, Blaine was actually being a perfect model boyfriend, complete with love filled glances and random stories about our 'adopted puppy'.

The food was fantastic and by 8:30 we were all stuffed to the brim with pasta, pot roast and garlic bread (with the exception of Rachel, who nibbled on green beans and salad all night). After dinner we went into the living room to open our presents that we got each other. Every year, on Christmas Eve we have a 'Secret Santa' deal worked out so that we don't end up spending tons of money buying gifts for all of the relatives. I had pulled Aunt Molly's name at Thanksgiving, so I got her a Versace handbag, along with a white Alexander McQueen Crepe tail coat. She gasped as soon as she opened it, immediately running towards me and attacking me with the biggest hug I've ever received in my life.

I found out that my Secret Santa had been Uncle Ben when he came into the living room with a giant box. I opened it with anticipation, feeling like a little kid. But, really, who doesn't turn into a little kid when they open large presents? Underneath the wrapping paper was an electric piano keyboard, complete with a stand.

"For your apartment." Uncle Ben said, "So you don't get rusty while you're living in New York." I thanked him over and over again, giving him a hug and shedding a tear or two as I looked at the box. A couple of minutes later Carol came up to me, holding a small gift wrapped in shiny green paper.

"I bought this a couple of days ago, for Blaine." She said as she handed me the gift. "Just so he would have something to open up tonight, you know?"

I looked back at her, surprised. "Um, wow. Thanks, Carol, that's really sweet of you. I'll um…I'll go give it to him now."

Looking around the room, I finally found Blaine in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, watching us open presents with a small smile on his face. The sight made me feel bad for him. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I couldn't spend Christmas with my family. I wondered if he missed them. He has to, I mean, there's no way that someone doesn't miss their family on Christmas.

I walked up to him, catching the smirk that brightened on his face when we made eye contact. "Carol got this for you." I said, handing him the gift.

He looked genuinely shocked, taking the present with caution. I leaned against the other side of the doorframe, watching him.

"Well, go on, open it."

Blaine began to smile as he gently lifted the flaps of the green paper, taking out the small book that was inside. "A rhyming dictionary." he said, with a small laugh. "She got me a rhyming dictionary. She's adorable."

I smiled brightly as I looked at the pocket sized book. "Well, I did tell her that you were a songwriter."

"I can't wait to use it." he said with a smile.

"Kuuuuuurt." Aunt Alice called from the other side of the room.

I snapped my gaze away from Blaine's eyes, looking around the room to find everyone smiling at us. I furrowed my brow in confusion, looking at Blaine and then back to everyone else. "What?"

Molly gently lifted her finger, pointing to the doorway above my head.

Mistletoe.

"Oh," I said simply. Glancing back and forth between Blaine and everyone else in the room.

"Go on, Kurt, kiss em'." Aunt Alice said. "There's no PDA police around here."

I turned towards Blaine, not noticing the smile that was so plainly widening on his face. "Maybe if we just do it really qui—"I whispered, suddenly cut off by his hands cradling my face. He pressed his lips against mine in a gentle, yet assertive kiss. A million butterflies invaded my stomach at once, my eyes closing on their own accord. It was quick though, as if we'd done it a thousand times. It was over in a very short moment. I'm sure it looked very adorable to everyone else in the room, considering the fact that I heard a fair amount of 'Aww's.

Blaine pulled away, smiling at me with an unrecognizable look in his eyes before picking up his book and walking towards Carol. He was completely unfazed.

I stood there, dazed and confused.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there you are. <strong>

**Review please!**

**Thanks to liz-loz and SarkyBlueEyes for being absolutely lovely and beta-ing for me. **

**And if you're bored you should go on tumblr and freak out about the massive amounts shirtless Darren pictures with me. (: My URL is tillthetearsstopfalling. I'd love it if you guys came and talked or followed or whatever. **

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	7. Chapter 7 Because It's Christmas

**Hey, look! I actually updated in a reasonable amount of time! This chapter is definitely, DEFINITELY rated M for a reason.**

* * *

><p>Later that night, Finn's grandmother roped a bunch of people into going to midnight mass with her at the local Catholic Church. Rachel declared that she would be more than happy to attend, claiming that the exposure to new culture might give her inspiration for a song. I managed to get me and Blaine out of it, saying that we'd do the dishes and clean up. Aunt Alice and Molly planned to head home instead of going to church with everyone, which was perfectly understandable. I walked Finn's grandma to the door, listening to her as she talked.<p>

"Now I want you to be very careful while you're in New York, do you hear me young man?"

"Yes, yes I hear you." I said, giggling to myself because she was just so damn adorable.

"And you," she pointed behind me to where Blaine stood, "you watch over my boy, that city is very dangerous. The place if filled with – with hoodlums, and gang leaders, and organized crime."

"I will make sure that Kurt steers clear of all mafias, you have my word." Blaine replied.

Oh great, lie to Finn's granny why don't you.

We said our goodbye's to Granny and the family, dishing out hug after hug as they went out the door. After a drawn out farewell, the front door was finally clicked shut, leaving Blaine and I in the silent hallway. I sighed, looking over at Blaine for a moment and walked into the dining room. There was a bottle of wine left on the table from dinner. Burt and Carol would usually let Finn and I have a glass with our meal, but Granny was very adamant about the whole 'no drinking under 21 rule'. The last thing we would want to do is lose Granny's approval.

"Do you want something to drink?" I called out to Blaine from the dining room.

"Um, I've been kind of sipping on water the entire night so…"

"No, I mean do you want something to _drink_." I walked over to him, holding the mostly full bottle and two empty wine glasses. "If we have to clean up we might as well have a little fun, right?"

Blaine hesitated, looking down at his shoes for a moment before smiling. "Right."

I walked back into the dining room, setting the glasses on the table and pouring an appropriate amount in each one. Blaine picked up one of the glasses, cradling it in his palm and sipping it gingerly. I did the same, leaning against the wall and looking at the mess we had to clean up.

"I thought you said you didn't drink." Blaine said.

"_Excessively_," I responded, pointing a finger out as-a-matter-of-factly. "I meant that I don't drink excessively."

"Ahh, I see. And this is…"

"Casually. This is casual drinking."

"Casual as in two friends enjoying a glass of wine together, casual?"

I tilted my head in puzzlement, taking another sip of wine. "This is…friendship?"

"Well, despite the blackmail and the constant lying to other people, I think we could be considered as two friendly misfits, yes."

I nodded. "Maybe…two terribly misunderstood artists with impeccable style, who just happen to work sort-of well together…with hints of friendliness."

"Yes. Perfect."

We both drank about a glass and a half more before we got to actually cleaning. I cranked up the radio in the kitchen, letting Christmas music play throughout the house as we cleared the table. The alcohol had made me significantly more playful, and I ended up doing weird little dances while carrying plates and bowls from the dining room to the kitchen. An upbeat song like 'Jingle Bell Rock' would come on, and Blaine and I would end up dancing with silverware in our hands, belting the lyrics out.

We eventually got done with the table, moving on to finish things up in the kitchen. Blaine started washing the dishes while I put the leftover food in containers. We kept singing and dancing the whole time, though. The Drifter's version of 'White Christmas' came on at one point, and Blaine belted out the soprano verse at the top of his lungs, leaving me in hysterics. It literally took me a good three minutes to calm down from my laughter.

After I was done putting away the food, I helped Blaine out by drying the dishes. A jazz instrumental of 'Greensleeves' came on the radio. I turned the volume down to ask Blaine a question.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Where were you last Christmas?"

"Last Christmas…I was here, in Ohio."

"In Westerville – with your family?"

Blaine nodded, turning his head to look at me, wondering what I was getting at. "With my family."

"Do they know?"

"What, that I've been living on a sidewalk since August?"

"Um…yeah."

"I really don't know, Kurt." Blaine answered. "And honestly, I'd rather it stay like that."

"Bad relationship?"

"Yes, at least with my parents." Blaine handed me a metal pan to dry, then reached back into the sink to wash another dish. "Did you…How did you come out to your parents? I mean, was it hard?"

"For _me _it was hard, I guess. I don't think it was that difficult for my dad. He was still single at the time. When I told him, he just said that he already knew and that he loved me."

"Oh," Blaine said. "That's good. You're um…you're really lucky to have a dad like that."

"I know." I replied softly. I leaned against the counter to study him for a moment. "I'm guessing that your parents didn't handle to news quite as well…"

"No, no they did not." Blaine put his hands on the edges of the sink, leaning his weight onto it and letting his head hang down. He looked exhausted at the subject.

"When did you come out?"

"When I was 19. You?"

"15."

Blaine hummed in acknowledgement, turning the sink back on to rinse a pan. Neither of us talked for a couple of minutes, the sound of clanging dishes and running water filling the room.

"Is there any more wine left?" Blaine asked.

"I'll go check."

* * *

><p>Blaine and I each drank another glass of wine as we continued to do the dishes. We weren't drunk, but we were definitely more comfortable with each other.<p>

We were comfortably buzzed.

There was one last pot in the sink which contained an excessive amount of baked-on grease and just general shit on it. Blaine was working really hard at scrubbing it, and suddenly he decided to attack the dish with that little water sprayer attached to the sink. It backfired, however, ricocheting tons of water off the side of the pot and landing in Blaine's general vicinity. I giggled as I watched Blaine stiffen, the gross water settling on top of him. Droplets of liquid dripped down from his face and soaked up his shirt, and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Oh this is funny, is it?" he said with closed eyes.

"Mhmm,"

Blaine took hold of the sprayer, turning his body very slowly towards me and lifting the nozzle in my direction. The left corner of his mouth creaked up in amusement. I panicked.

"…Blaine?"

"Yes, Kurt?"

"We're friends, remember?"

"We're misunderstood artists, Kurt," He slowly stepped towards me, lifting the nozzle even higher. "with subtle hints of friendliness."

"Blaine…no…plea—" I was interrupted by the 'tsss'ing of the nozzle. I shut my eyes tight, feeling warm water spray on my face and chest.

"Very funny…now—" *tsss* "Hey! What the—" *tsss* "Blaine! Stop i—" *tssssssssssss* "GODDAMN IT, BLAINE!" I yelled, running forward and trying to grab the sprayer from Blaine. He gripped it tight, twisting his body around so that I couldn't reach it.

The little fucker was laughing.

The fight for the nozzle continued, and I was eventually successful in grabbing it away from him. Of course, as soon as I got a good grip on it I squeezed the handle and sprayed him relentlessly. I started laughing too because, hell, it was fun to spray Blaine. He ran for me, clutching my waist with one hand and trying to grab the hose with the other. I spun around, hoping to deflect him, but I ended up slipping off my feet, due to my wet socks. Blaine and I went tumbling to the ground, the hose dropping somewhere in between us and the sink.

We fell to the floor in a series of thumps. I was on my back and Blaine's face was somewhere near my armpit. We both lay there, panting for a little bit before bursting into a fit of laughter. Our bodies motionless for a good thirty seconds before Blaine started to stir on top of me. He put his knees on either side of my legs, and then reached his hands up to my arms to hold them down.

"What're you _doing_?" I said through my giggles, watching Blaine's face fill with determination as he tried to hold my resistant body down.

"Making sure you don't get to that hose before I do." He panted, smiling in triumph.

"You're such an idiot" I mumbled, laughing again at the ridiculousness of us being on the kitchen floor. Then I really tried to get up, attempting to wiggle my arms out of his grasp. He wouldn't budge.

Maybe he wasn't such an idiot.

I lifted my head off the ground, looking at our position to find a way to get him off of me. My eyes landed on his ass which was perched in the air since he was on his knees.

Found it.

I lifted my foot up to the back of his ass, pushing him forward so that his knees slid down on the floor. His body collapsed fully on top of mine, and I smiled in victory.

I tried to move again, but then I realized that now it was just harder to now that his full body weight was on top of me. I put my head back down on the floor, ready to accept defeat and raise my white flag. It was then that I realized how close his face was to mine. My eyes landed on his gold orbs and I could feel his breath graze my cheeks. I think he was just starting to realize it as well.

While staring into his eyes and breathing heavily, I waited for something to happen. I wasn't quite sure of what that something was, but I knew that we couldn't stay on the kitchen floor forever. A moment later, Blaine was leaning his head down an inch further. He stopped for a moment, before pressing his lips down on mine.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and my fingers flared at my sides. For a moment I was paralyzed, too shocked to move an inch. Then the fact that _Blaine was kissing me_ sank into my brain.

Since when are butterflies able to go beyond the depths of your stomach? It was as if they'd spilled through my lungs, found their way into my bloodstream and filtered through my entire body. I was kissing Blaine back instantly, pushing myself into him and testing that awesome sensation.

It wasn't the same as it was under the mistletoe when he had kissed me. Back in the doorway he was more confident, grabbing my face and leaning close like it was second nature. But here he was more uncertain, as if he didn't know whether I would pull him closer or shove him away.

The kiss turned from something hesitant and curious to needy and hungry in a matter of moments. Blaine's hands wandered from my neck, down my chest, feeling my body under my shirt. Tongue and teeth were quickly mixed in. I could feel myself getting intoxicated with something that was either from the adrenaline or the alcohol. Wherever it was coming from, I wanted more of it.

I pushed on Blaine's shoulder a little, making him slowly lean back. I moved my body with him, not breaking our lips apart but still allowing us to sit up. We sat on the floor, feeling each other's arms and exploring each muscle as we kissed. I didn't know what was happening but _god_, I didn't want it to stop.

"Downstairs?" I murmured as we came up for air. Blaine stood still, staring at me in shock for all of three seconds before scrambling to his feet and tugging me up with him. We made our way over to the basement door, Blaine stopping to pin me against the wall beside it.

"Downstairs," he confirmed before crashing his lips against mine again. His thighs slotted themselves between my leg as he dove his tongue into my mouth once more. I let an embarrassingly loud grunt out against his lips because…_hot damn_.

We stumbled down the stairs, trying to get to the bed as quickly as we could but at the same time not wanting to let go of each other. When we reached the bottom step, Blaine hoisted my legs up so they wrapped around his waist. He ran me over to the bed, letting me down and then flopping himself on top of me. Our mouths connected and I lunged my tongue past his lips, feeling around for his tongue and teeth. We battled for a while, and it was a bit messy but just so, _so _sexy.

Suddenly Blaine leaned back off of me, working the buttons down my shirt and pushing it off my shoulders.

"God," he said, "_What are you_, Kurt." He let his hands press all along my chest, feeling their way over my abdominals to my shoulders. "What makes you so…so…?"

"Stop talking." I pulled down on the back of his neck, kissing him again and flipping us over so I was on top. I worked on getting his shirt off, which was quite annoying considering he had about three layers on. Plus, we were all wet, which only made our clothes stick to our skin. His chest was finally bare and I took a moment to marvel at him. My mind flashed back to a couple of days ago when I had first seen him get out of the shower.

"_How _are you this hot? _How_?" I murmured to myself, while throwing my shirt somewhere at the other side of the room and leaning back over him. Blaine flipped me over again, pinning my arms down and nipping near my ear and down my neck. I writhed underneath him, shivering from the feeling of his tongue, lips, and teeth against my skin.

"Can't share all my secrets, now can I?"

"Yeah," I scoffed while his lips made a journey down to my collarbone and chest. "like you let me in on a lot secrets—_Ohh_!" Blaine's hand was suddenly over my groin, palming my hard on harshly over my pants. "Oh my – fuck, _Blaine_."

He unlatched my belt, tugging my wet pants down roughly, and then staring at the tent in my briefs. I could feel a deep blush rise from my neck to my cheeks so I tried to busy myself with getting my pants out from around my ankles. Blaine settled himself between my thighs and nuzzled his face near my abdomen.

I stared down at him, panting and feeling like I was going to combust if something didn't happen soon. He ran his hands up and down my thighs and trailed kisses from my lower stomach down to the tip of my bulge. "Shit, Blaine, please."

"What?" he said, his voice extremely low as he continued to nuzzle his nose into my groin and actually _breathe _in through the fabric of my briefs. Holy fuck, if that wasn't the most arousing thing I've ever seen.

"God, just…_do something_."

Blaine let out an amused huff of air and grabbed the waistband of my underwear. I winced as he pulled them off of my hips, my dick catching on the hem before springing back on my stomach. His eyes turned a shade darker as he gazed down at my cock, wrapping his hand around the base and then beginning to move it experimentally.

My head fell back down on the blanket as he started to stroke. Blaine's other hand wandered from my hip, around to my ass, kneading and caressing the tight skin. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm my racing heart and just concentrate on the feeling of his hands on me. They burst open again, however, as I felt something warm and wet leave a stripe up my shaft and settle on the head. A surprised cry escaped my mouth as my cock was suddenly engulfed in soaking heat, my neck straining and rising up from the bed.

Blaine took me on eagerly, bobbing his head and rolling my balls in his hand as if he'd been doing it all his life. Where the hell had he learned all this? I raised my hand to my head and clenched my eyes closed, willing my thoughts away because _that _was something I really didn't want to think about right now. Blaine started sucking on my head again and my hands twisted in the blankets at my side. My hips started to buck involuntarily, pushing my cock back into his mouth. He held my hips down to the bed with his forearm as he continued my back arching as I felt him start to hum. I was getting so damn close already.

"_Fuck_!" I gasped as one of Blaine's hands crept between my ass cheeks and a finger ran over my puckered entrance. I felt my hole quiver and even more blood drained down to my groin. I didn't even know that I could be this hard, and my body ached, yearning for release. I could feel the pleasure start to build up as I squirmed underneath him, gripping the blankets even harder and digging the back of my head into the mattress.

He took his mouth off my cock for a moment, stopping to suck along the sides and catch his breath. His finger pressed harder around my entrance, circling the rim with his fingertips. "God, I want to fuck you so bad." I heard him whisper under his breath. I don't think he meant for me to hear it, but I did and now it was all I could think about.

"Do it, please Blaine. I need you. Please, do it." I gasped, widening my legs as I continued to beg. "There's lube in the drawer, _please_."

Blaine pressed his finger harder against my entrance, almost pushing through the first ring of muscle there. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes please." I moaned. "I want you to fuck me."

Blaine sat up and began to take off his pants. I watched in wonder as the material slid off of his tantalizing hips. Though I would never admit it to anyone, I had imagined him naked quite a few times this week. The fact that I was about to see it was a bit surreal. He removed his boxers off quickly and I craned my neck to take a look at his cock. It was honestly everything I hoped – I mean thought – I mean…supposed it would be. It was smooth and long, with just the right amount of thickness and perfectly trimmed. Oh god, it would probably feel so amazing pounding inside of me.

Blaine leaned back down, capturing my lips in quick kiss before reaching for my bedside table. I closed my eyes, listening to him rummage through the drawer and trying to steady my racing heart. My eyes opened again when I heard a second item being dropped on the bed. Looking down, I saw a package of condoms that my aunt Alice had got me as a 'gift' after I graduated high school. I had completely forgotten they were even there, and a small sense of relief flooded through my body.

Blaine clicked the small bottle of lube open, spreading some onto his fingers before settling himself between my thighs. He took a moment to warm it up, and then circled his index finger around my hole, teasing the tight muscle there.

"Please," I whimpered, dying to finally feel at least some part of him in me. He pushed one finger in slowly, making sure my hole was slick enough before going in further. Blaine was definitely taking his time, and I could not freaking stand it. I was a mess, yearning for release. My cock was agonizingly stiff and I'm sure if I got any harder I would have passed out. He pushed another finger along with the first, still pumping at a painfully slow pace. "Blaine, harder. You're not going to break me."

It was like that had set off a switch in Blaine, you could see it in his eyes. All of the sudden, he decided not to hold back. He slammed another finger into my ass, scissoring his fingers and stretching my hole. I grunted at the incredible burn, clenching my jaw and pushing myself into his hands. He quickly followed with a third and fourth finger, watching me as I came undone in front of him. I moaned loudly and shut my eyes, my body jerking as his fingers thrust against my prostate. "Yes, yes!" I panted, "j—just like that, oh god."

Blaine grabbed the box of condoms with his other hand, pulling out a wrapper and tearing it open with his teeth. In an instant his fingers were pulling out of me, putting the condom onto his cock and slathering a generous amount of lube on top. I moaned at the loss of fullness, watching with anticipation as he aligned himself with my hole. Blaine pushed his cock smoothly inside of me, inching his way in and not stopping until his hips touched the bottom of my ass. I laid there breathing heavily, trying to adjust to his thickness and marveling at the feeling of being so damn full.

"Fuck, Kurt. You're so tight."

He reached for a pillow and stuffed it under my lower back, giving him leverage to start moving. He pulled out slightly, and then pushed back in to create a rhythm. I hooked one leg around his side and the other over his shoulder, opening myself up more to him as he slid in and out of me. "God, you feel so good." I spoke, my breath hitching as he drove into me again.

I couldn't help but stare at him while he hovered above me. His hair was damp from water fight in the kitchen, and it clung to his forehead, where a screen of sweat was starting to appear. I could see the muscles of his abs move under the skin as he used them to move back and forth. His lips were parted as he breathed deeply, beginning to pant a little as the pace of his thrusts quickened. They were red and bruised, worn out from kissing and caressing. Kissing _me._

Blaine changed his angle slightly, thrusting right into my prostate. "FUCK!" I shouted. "Right there, yes, right there."

Just then he leaned down, gripping my sides and pulling me into a heated kiss as he thrust harder and faster into me. He began to moan into my mouth, snaking and twisting his tongue around mine and I mirrored the action and sounds – unable to stop myself. We continued like this for a while, each of us letting out various grunts of pleasure while Blaine pounded into me. I could feel pressure start to swirl around in my stomach, and I moaned at the pooling sensation.

"Close."

"Me too." He huffed, reaching down between us and grabbing my erection, pumping his hand to match his thrusts. "Shit, Kurt, you're so hot like this."

Blaine seemed to find a way to shove himself even further into me, now hitting my prostate every time. "Harder," I demanded, trying to milk this for everything it was worth. The next thing I knew he slamming his cock in and out of me with all of his strength.

I cried out as I came, his name tumbling off my lips before I could stop myself. Strings of come shot up from my cock, spilling into Blaine's hand and onto my chest.

I was still coming down from my high when Blaine came, still pumping himself into my asshole, several grunts rising from his throat. He slowed down to a stop after he had finished and pulled out, resting his head against my collarbone. I let my leg drop off of his shoulder.

"Wow."

"I know." I replied, staring at the ceiling.

"That was…"

"Amazing."

"Exceptionally amazing."

"Yeah."

Blaine sat up lazily, tying the condom and tossing it in a small trash can near the bed. He plopped himself down beside me, joining me in my very extensive examination of the ceiling tiles. "Merry Christmas."

"What?"

"It's 12:13. Merry Christmas."

"Oh," I replied. "maybe that's why it was so good."

"…the sex?"

"Yes."

"Well then," He bent his legs, pulling the comforter up over us. "this is definitely one Christmas I will never forget." Blaine put his arm around my side just as he did last night, snuggling his head near my shoulder. Except this time, when his body pressed against mine, he was completely naked.

_Naked_, _because we had sex_.

"Oh god!" I sat up suddenly, raking my hands through my hair. "We had sex. Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god."

"Again, Kurt, seriously?"

"I just had sex with a _homeless _person, oh my god. What is wrong with me? We just had sex and we didn't even have to and this was supposed to all be pretend and you fucking kissed me in the kitchen…"

I was rambling again.

"Why do you always decide to have epiphanies when I'm just about to fall asleep?"

"And Burt! We said that there would be no monkey business, and what do we do as soon as we're alone? Screw like freaking monkeys!"

"Shh, Kurt, Sleep. You're supposed to go to sleep. We should be sleeping." He said, shushing me and pressing down on my chest to get me to lie down again.

"I'm a terrible person. I don't deserve wonderful a wonderful father and brilliant sex…I don't deserve sleep."

"I know Kurt, I know." He replied calmly, shushing me again and wrapping his arms around my waist. "But just go to sleep anyway. It'll be my Christmas gift to you."

"And I don't deserve you or your stupid mouth or your stupid body…" My eyes closed on their own accord as I nuzzled my face into the pillow, sleepiness once again taking over my body.

"Please shut up and go to sleep."

"Okay."

**Thanks again to liz-loz for being an awesome beta. I know my smut skills aren't the best in the world. **

**Also, I'm pretty lonely on tumblr, come talk to me. **

**Let me know what you think! Review!**


	8. Chapter 8 Guacamole

**I know that this is kind of late again, but it's packed with fluff.**

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking on my bedroom door. My eyes opened just in time to see Finn burst through the door, leaning into the room and balancing his weight on the doorknob.<p>

"KURT, IT'S CHRISTMAS, COME AND—"he became silent once he saw Blaine and I in the bed together. Finn's face froze, and he sputtered a bit as he took in the way we were cuddled under the covers.

"Finn, what do you want?" I said groggily, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"You…y-y-you're both…I…I umm…I'm just going to um…come back later…when you're not…kay," He backed out of the doorway as quickly as possible, shutting the door with a click.

"What was that?" Blaine stirred beside me, his voice raspy from sleep.

"_Mooooooooom!_" I could hear Finn's muffled yell as he went up the stairs. "_Moooom, they're naked! I can't do it! I can't talk to them while they're naked!_"

Blaine started giggling next to me, his eyes still closed as he nuzzled his face into the pillow. "Your family is _fantastic_."

"Oh, I'm glad you think so," I replied sarcastically. Blaine sniggered some more in a sleepy haze. His arms rewound themselves back around , me and he rested his head on my shoulder, his leg tangling around mine under the covers.

My eyes widened as I felt more of his skin all over my side. This was way too intimate for two people who are supposed to be pretend-boyfriends. Hell, having hot sex is way too intimate for two people who are supposed to be pretend boyfriends. What am I _doing_? I can't just snuggle naked homeless men because they're hot! There's still the overwhelming underlying factor that they're _homeless_. What the hell is wrong with me?

Still, I couldn't bring myself to move away from his embrace.

A knock sounded on the door before Carole popped her head in. "Hey honey," she whispered. "Are you boys awake?"

"For the most part, yes," I said as I sat up a little, the blanket sliding lower on my chest. I blushed deeply at the fact that she could see us cuddled this way. I don't think it would take her very long to figure out why our chests were bare.

"Alright, well, I think we all know how Finn gets on Christmas. You might want to hurry up a little before he starts ripping open presents without us. Breakfast will be ready soon as well."

"Okay. Thank you. We'll be ready in a couple of minutes."

Carole nodded and closed the door quietly. I poked Blaine's side experimentally.

"Blaine?"

"Hmmrrrff."

"You have to wake up now."

"Don't wanna," I lifted the comforter off my body, moving off the bed in spite of the fact that Blaine was clutching onto me. "Where're you going?"

"As comfortable as you may be, I'm not too fond of not having clothes on," I hissed at the soreness of my ass as I slid off the bed. God, why did I actually encourage Blaine to be so rough last night?

"You okay?"

I looked at him for a moment, furrowing my brow. "Yes, I'll be fine as soon as I'm able to moisturize and caffeine is in my system."

"No, I mean your…" He gestured towards my butt as I covered myself with a shirt that was on the floor. "_assets_."

"My…_ass_ is fine," I grabbed underwear from inside my dresser and tugged it on quickly "though I appreciate the concern."

Blaine got up from the bed, rubbing his face and walking around aimlessly for a minute before moving towards the shopping bags. He literally had no shame, his business hanging loose for all to see. "So do you think they know?"

"What, that you're a hobo or that we had spontaneous sex."

"I would be referring to the latter, although if you keep on repeating the fact that I'm currently homeless they'll probably overhear."

"Yeah, well, it's not exactly something that just breezes through the mind," I said as I pulled on a pair of pants.

Blaine squinted his eyes at me as he found a pair of boxers. "You _really_ are completely repulsed by that small detail, aren't you?"

"It's not just a small detail, Blaine. It's a very big detail. In fact, it's one of the most important details ever."

"Oh, okay," he replied sarcastically, "so social class is drastically more important than personality – or looks – or morals."

"Well…no…but…I…" I pulled a shirt over my head, walking over to the mirror to start my moisturizing routine. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Right, sure you didn't," Blaine huffed and turned his attention back to his clothes. "You know, I'm kind of glad that I got to be homeless. It really puts the importance of life in a different perspective. You really learn to appreciate people for _who they are_."

"What are you suggesting, Blaine? That I don't value people for what's on the inside?"

"Oh, I never said that. I'm just simply stating my thoughts and recalling my life philosophies."

"Okay, listen to me," I said as I spun around in my chair, facing Blaine. "I don't have anything against you. I think you are a wonderful person. I just think that this situation is very, very odd. Also, the fact that it involves me lying continually to my family and friends is kind of putting me on edge. Now, if we can put an end to this conversation and enjoy Christmas, that would be amazing."

"I…okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Blaine and I walked up the stairs together and came into the kitchen, where Burt and Finn were waiting at a small table.<p>

"What's for breakfast?" I asked.

"French toast," Carole settled a platter down in front of Burt and Finn. Blaine started beaming, his grin positively wide and adorable. "I'm guessing you approve?" she said, smiling at Blaine.

"It's his favorite," I added, giggling a bit at the excited look on his face.

"Yes, it is indeed," He said as he sat down eagerly next to Finn. Soon everything was on the table, and we all started to dig in. Blaine ate almost double the amount that I did, a huge grin of contentment on his face the whole way through.

Burt and Carole discussed things about work and I took a moment to whisper to Blaine.

"So are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh god," he swallowed the bit he was chewing. "I haven't been able to have these in _such _a long time."

"Well I'm happy if you're happy."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at this, looking at me curiously. Well shit, Kurt, you wasted a perfectly good lovey-dovey moment on a time when absolutely no one else can hear you. I blushed at the endearment, hoping that he wouldn't actually address it with words. Instead, he just smirked and nudged me in the side with his elbow, turning back into his plate of food.

"So Kurt," Burt said, putting down his cup of coffee, "how did you decide to have Blaine move in with you?"

"Oh, well I um…"

I looked over at Blaine, who had ever-so-conveniently chosen to put another forkful of French toast into his mouth. Oh you smug bastard, you.

"Well he was always, you know…around. So I decided to adopt this…puppy of my own," I said with a fake-swoon, lifting my fingers to play with a little bit of his hair.

He stilled his chewing and stared at the middle of the table, obviously a bit freaked out. Blaine turned his head to the side a little, mouthing '_Puppy?_' at me.

"I thought you already adopted a dog," Finn said.

"What?"

"Last night Blaine was telling us about your dog…Reptar?"

"Hector," Blaine corrected.

Seriously? What the hell kind of dog's name is _Hector_? "Yes, Hector," I tried not to visibly gag at the terrible choice as I spoke. "I guess I have two new little companions in that apartment of mine."

Blaine turned towards me, looking me in the eye. "You just compared me to a canine, think about that."

I smiled, because yes, he is the spitting image of a Labrador retriever.

"Have you had any major fights yet?" Finn asked abruptly.

"Finn!" Carole exclaimed, "That's not exactly the best Christmas conversation."

"I don't see why not. I mean, lots of couples have really big fights, especially on the holidays." Finn looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer. He had this overconfident smirk that he usually only wore when he was up to something or was trying to trick someone. It usually never works out as planned, but he sure does like to try.

"You don't have to answer that, Kurt," Carole said.

"Oh, no, it's fine," I turned to Finn, wondering what the hell he was trying to get at. Whatever it was, I'll be damned if I let it get the best of me. "We have some disagreements sometimes, but we work it out. We've never really screamed at each other or anything like that."

"I think we both try to keep the conflict to a minimum," Blaine chimed in. "So far it is working splendidly."

"I couldn't agree more," I smiled at Blaine, and then looked back towards Finn. I'm sure that my eyes were giving him all kinds of assorted bitchy death glares.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later we were all gathered around the Christmas tree, giving our gifts to each other. There's something very sentimental about opening gifts on Christmas morning with family. Everyone seems to be happy, and there's an overwhelming sense of gratefulness and love in the air. Tons of hugs are dished out as we open the gifts, all of us excited over our new items. Carole and Burt got me mostly gift cards, which I am very thankful for, because New York City prices are disgustingly high. Finn handed me a square box, which I opened with hesitation.<p>

"Pajama Jeans…" I said, trying my best not to sound horribly confused and appalled. "I…thank you…Finn…this is…a present. I…it was so nice of you…to think of…this…" Oh god, he got me _pajama jeans_.

"Yeah, I mean I figure you really like fashion and usually all those pants you wear look super uncomfortable. So I figured with _pajama jeans_," he flared his hands out, trying to make the present seem more grandeur.

Good joke, Finn.

"…you can be comfortable and you know…still look good and all."

"Yes, that's excellent logic." I really was trying to sound genuine, really. "Thanks Finn," I got up to hug him, suffering through him awkwardly wrapping his arms around my sides. Blaine was watching from a spot next to me on the couch, trying very hard to hold in obnoxious fits of laughter.

"Looks like we have one here for Blaine," Carole said as she handed a gift bag over to me. I smiled and handed him the red bag, watching a surprised look sprout on his face. The tag on the side of the bag read, 'To Blaine: From Kurt.'

"How did you…"

"I snuck out of Banana Republic while you were in the dressing room. Go ahead, open it."

Blaine smiled as he lifted the items out from the red tissue paper. Inside the bag were a bunch of guitar accessories. There were brand-new capos, neck straps, picks, strings, and even a portable miniature amp. "_Kurt_."

"I know we already exchanged gifts in New York," I said for the sake of my family's curiosity. "but I saw the music store and just couldn't resist."

"Kurt…I," Blaine kept looking back and forth from the things in his hands to my eyes, trying to come up with something to say. After a moment, he put the items back in the bag and moved close to me. He trapped my chin in between his finger and his thumb, leaning forward and kissing me sweetly on the lips. "Thank you, Kurt," Blaine said as he pulled away. "It's amazing."

"No problem," I said airily, still holding my breath and sitting as stiff as a board on the couch. It was very hard to breathe. Blaine just simply looked at his new items as if it was the norm, no signs of hyperventilation found anywhere. How does he _do_ that? He has this ability to kiss someone with so much spontaneous passion, but then turn completely back to normal a second later. I stared at the ground, my lips tingling as they held on to the feeling.

* * *

><p>Some people were coming over for our annual Christmas game session. We basically make a bunch of appetizers and snack on them while playing board games. I told Carole that I would make the food, giving her a break so that she could relax for the night. The holidays are the only time of the year that I allow myself to pig out, and I took full advantage of the situation. The amount of cheese that I've eaten this weekend is absolutely disgusting, but also so, <em>so <em>good.

"Kurt, can I talk to you for a minute?" Finn asked as I pulled the artichoke dip out of the oven. He had his hands in his pockets and looked a little nervous as he walked into the kitchen.

"Um, sure, if you can get started on the guacamole for me," Finn nodded, looking at the vegetables on the counter in confusion. "The avocados, Finn..." he still looked perplexed, "…the dark green egg-looking ones."

"Oh! Right," he grabbed a cutting board and two avocados, "where's Blaine?"

"He's in my room trying out the guitar things I got him, I believe. Why?"

"Are you two like…?"

"…in a relationship? Yes, that's kind of the reason I brought him here."

"No, I mean is he…abusive?"

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him dubiously, although I was laughing inside my head. What the hell is he talking about? What did I even do to make him that this relationship was abusive? "What?"

"Well, I mean, you act really strange around him. Sometimes you seem really nervous and your cheeks look like they're about to catch on fire. Like, you never kiss him, and when he kisses you, you get really tense and anxious. And then there are other times when you seem really happy and smiley. I mean, I don't think you're bipolar or anything so…"

"So _obviously_ it must be rape," I started cutting bell peppers and carrots for a vegetable platter.

"I'm not saying that he _rapes_ you, I just…the relationship seems kind of…forced."

What, what? No! He's not allowed to think that! He can't think that! Everything will be ruined if he thinks that! "You think _my _relationship is forced? You do realize that Rachel made you sit through 'The Sound of Music' with her at least once a week all throughout during high school, right?"

"Yeah but I'm okay with all that stuff," I gave him another unconvinced look. "Really! And sometimes if I sang that song about aging with her she would make out with me after. I mean, I had to calm down her crying fits when that dude became a crazy Nazi, but still it was worth it."

I nodded and pretended like I understood what he was saying, just in hopes that he would forget what we were originally talking about. How does _Finn _of all people notice this? I think the universe is trying to play my life into some kind of twisted comedy.

"So am I right?"

"About what?" I replied.

"Is he abusive?"

"No! What the hell, Finn? Of course he's not freaking abusive. Do you think I'm that much of an idiot to bring a violent boyfriend home to _Burt Hummel_ of all people?"

"Well I've been trying to read between the lines and it just seems odd."

"Finn, since when do you read between lines? I said the exact words 'I'm honestly in love with you' to you in sophomore year and you thought I was talking about a song title."

"Fine, whatever Kurt, I believe you," he grunted, "why are these damn avocados so hard to cut?" I looked up to see Finn trying to actually cut his way through the entire whole avocado. "It was so easy at first but there's this super hard part in the middle…"

"Finn, that's the pit. You're not supposed to cut through the pit of the avocado, it's basically wood."

"Oh."

"Look, Finn, I'll finish the guacamole. You can go back to…whatever you were doing before. People will probably be here in life fifteen minutes."

"Cool, Kurt. Thanks," Finn walked away from the counter, stopping in the doorway. "So…not abusive, right?"

A small huff of amusement left me. "Not abusive."

* * *

><p>I definitely need to step up my game. If it was obvious enough for <em>Finn <em>to notice that I was uncomfortable, it's basically a miracle that the whole family hasn't given me an intervention by now. My fondness meter needs to go way up, and quick.

Aunt Alice, Molly, and Rachel had arrived, and the only person we were waiting for was Puck. We all sat down in the living room, munching on appetizers and deciding amongst ourselves what game we should play first. I chewed thoughtfully on a carrot as Blaine came up and sat down very close to me on the couch.

"Hey babe," Blaine said with a knowing smile, leaning over and planting a kiss on my cheek. I willed myself to stay nonchalant. Goddamn it, I _will_ force myself to get used to this, even if it kills me.

"Hey…you," I tried very hard to control my pitch. My arm linked itself around his and I crossed my legs, nestling into his side. Blaine looped an arm around comfortable around my back, softly rubbing his thumb casually on my upper hip.

We deserve an Academy Award.

"So are there any Christmas evening traditions that I should know about?" Blaine asked.

"Well, we usually just play games, eat food, and decorate cookies," I said, looking over at him. He always looks so calm. His level of coolness doesn't even seem logical. I mean, I'm the one who should be calm. I'm the one at home with my family and friends. He's a stranger who has to prove to a bunch of other strangers that he's head-over-heels for yet another stranger, and thus far he's as cool as a fucking pickle. "Oh and we also have our annual blood sacrifice, so watch out for that, we'll probably have to pick you this year."

He smirked. "Oh you and you're insanely creative mind…"

"I'm creative am I?"

"Yes, very."

I smiled, leaning the side of my body against his so that we were practically canoodling. All of the sudden, Puck walked into the room, throwing his jacket on the floor as he sat down next to it. "Sup guys, sorry I'm late. Had Jewish things to do, you wouldn't understand."

"I beg your pardon?" Rachel squeaked from beside Finn.

"You know, Puck, there's this new thing called a doorbell…" Burt said.

"Yes, it's the shiny button by the door that you ring _before _you enter a house," I added. Puck looked up at me, a smirk showing on his face once he noticed Blaine.

"That your new fuck buddy, Kurt?" Burt glared at Puck with a look brimming with pure hatred. "…I mean…sex friend…"

"Oh my god, Puck," Finn mumbled.

"…I mean…significant…person…other…"

"_So anyways_," Aunt Alice interrupted, "Puck, this is Kurt's boyfriend, Blaine. Blaine, this is Puck. He went to high school with Finn, Kurt, and Rachel."

"Nice to meet you, Blaine," Puck bowed a little and tipped an imaginary hat. "Alice, Molly, lovely as always."

"I don't know if you can define relentless-pursuing as 'lovely'," Molly said.

"Yes, but it_ is_ amusing," Alice replied with a laugh. She scooted closer to Molly, throwing a possessive arm around her waist. "As long as it stays innocent. Which it will, I can assure you."

"I don't think you can use the words 'innocent' and 'Puck' in the same sentence," Rachel said.

"Puck has a really big thing for Molly, and he refuses to accept the fact that she's a lesbian," I whispered to Blaine, who nodded in understanding.

"I take it that Puck is a little…improper?" he whispered back.

"Improper is an understatement. You'll see what we're talking about soon enough."

Carole pulled out a game called 'The Game of Things'. It's basically this board game where you write down scenarios on a piece of paper and people have to try and guess who wrote it. We split up into teams; Burt and Carole, Blaine and I, Finn and Rachel, Alice and Molly, and finally Puck with himself.

"Alright, seeing as I'm a ninth wheel, I'll start the game off," Puck said as he pulled a card from the deck. "Things you wouldn't want to be allergic to."

Blaine looked at me, smirking, our pen and paper in his hand. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Music?"

I raised my eyebrows, shrugging when I couldn't think of anything better. Blaine wrote it down, folded the paper in half and passed it along to Puck.

"Alright," Puck said, looking the papers once everyone had handed theirs in, "things you wouldn't want to be allergic to…condoms…lube…music…beds…and boobs."

Sniggers went all around the room and I glanced at Blaine, seeing a small smile on his face. This game turns sexual 99.9% of the time, maybe I should have warned him about that…

"Well at least one of us strayed from the sexual path," Molly laughed, "and I'm guessing that it would be Burt and Carole. You guys had 'music', right?" Blaine and I exchanged amused glances as Burt and Carole shook their heads, both with shy grins on their faces.

"Mr. H!" Puck bellowed, "You dirty dog!"

"Okay, before I excuse myself to go vomit," Finn said, "you guys had 'bed', right?"

"Yes, we did," Carole laughed.

"Oh thank god."

I waved at Puck, trying to get his attention, "Lube?"

"Damn it, I thought everyone would assume that it was yours," He replied.

"Yes, like I would play the word 'lube' with my whole family present."

"Well, Finn played the word 'boobs', didn't you Finny?" Alice said with a triumphant grin. Finn and Rachel nodded in defeat. "I know my boobs."

"So that means you guys had 'condoms'?" Blaine asked Molly.

"Yes sir and you 'had music'. I commend you for keeping it G-rated. That's a hard thing to do in this game."

* * *

><p>An hour later we decided to stop playing the game after an extremely vulgar contribution from Puck. Carole turned as red as a beet when she read it and refused to say it out loud. I think it had something to do with a vegetable peeler and a shower-head. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more confused I get.<p>

Everyone just hung out for a bit, walking around and eating food. The radio was turned on again and a little sing-along began as we talked. I was asked tons and tons of questions about New York, and what it was like to actually perform on a Broadway stage. Frankly, it feels great, but it doesn't feel as good as it can be…yet. I mean, Wicked has an _insanely _large cast, and I can't help but feel like I'm only part of something much, much bigger than myself. Nevertheless, I'm tremendously grateful for the opportunity to be there every day. The Gershwin Theatre is honestly one of my favorite places in the whole wide world.

I found Blaine a little while later, talking with Finn and Rachel. Now was my chance to show Finn exactly what this relationship really is. I mean – not _exactly _what it is, what I want him to think it is.

I put my hand on Blaine's hip from behind, coming up beside him. "Hey Hun," he said, turning his head towards me. I leaned in quickly to place a short kiss on his lips, ignoring the heat in my stomach when I unconsciously made a 'mwah' sound as we pulled apart.

"Hey yourself,"

"So Blaine," Finn said, "what school do you go to again?"

"Columbia."

"Do you like it?"

"Well, yeah. It's great, I mean, it's…Columbia," he replied with a huff of nervous laughter.

"What are you majoring in?" Rachel asked.

"Music education and conducting, with a minor in music management."

"Wow," she replied, "You're quite the musician, aren't you?" Blaine bowed his head sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"He's really good, you should hear him play," I added, "His voice is outstanding."

"Oh, no, I'm really not—"

"He's just being bashful. Really, he has a lot of talent."

Blaine looked at me with mystified eyes. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do!" I said with a smile, "I have an amazing boyfriend, and I want to show him off."

Blaine continued to look at me for a moment. Well if that doesn't convince Finn that I'm completely head-over-heels for this guy, I don't know what will.

"You're a songwriter, right? You should play something for us!" Rachel said, her eyes widening with excitement.

"Me? Play? No, you guys really don't want to—"

"Yes, we do! And Kurt is pretty judgmental when it comes to music, so if he says you're good, then you really must be good."

"No pressure or anything," Blaine murmured under his breath.

I smiled, actually really wanting to hear one of his songs. He was very private with his personal music, and he only ever played covers of other artists out loud. "Go on, get your guitar," I said as I nudged him lightly and gave an encouraging smile.

He went down to the basement and returned with his guitar case in hand. We all gathered around him as he opened up the case, pulling the instrument out and setting the trap over his head. "So um, who do you guys want to hear? I know some P!nk…Katy Perry…Neon Trees…"

"Sing one of your originals," Rachel said, "you do write songs, right?"

"Um…yeah I do…but I…" Blaine looked up around at everyone in the room, then finally at me. "Okay."

Blaine began picking at the strings, playing a sharp progression, and then began to sing.

"_New life decides to come through the front door,  
>and makes us wish we'd shown respect before.<br>Though I don't have much of a choice,  
>I'll resolve to regain my voice.<em>

_If I only just begin to understand it that's because,  
>every time I start to change my mind again,<br>it gets me back to where I was._

_New life decides we never had a clue.  
>The two of us, deciding what to do.<br>Though my hands are all but tied,  
>I rebound so I can say,<br>at least I tried."_

We watched while he sang in an engaging, almost bittersweet voice. I realized that these lyrics were a piece of Blaine's _actual _life, something that I knew nothing of. Blaine's reality was completely foreign to me, and I narrowed my eyes into empty space, trying to decipher the words. Whether I knew it or not, I was very curious about this complex person. My mind wanted to know him, to understand how his life was ever able to become so tragic. There was also a small, tiny, imperceptible part of me that wanted to fix everything that had ever gone wrong.

"_And long as I'm allowed,  
>I'll change my mind<br>that's what it's for.  
>I'm getting older but I'm still the same,<br>I'm just not thinking anymore_

_If I only just begin to understand it that's because,  
>Every time Is start to change my mind again,<br>it gets me back to where I was…"_

Everyone clapped as Blaine ended the song. His head snapped back up, as if he was just remembering that others were in the room. Blaine blushed, lifting the guitar strap off his shoulders and putting the instrument back in its case.

"You're really gifted, Blaine," Alice said. "That song was amazing, really."

"Yeah, I mean…_wow_," Rachel said, "it would take me forever to write a song like that. I mean your use of metaphors is just…_insane_."

"Thanks, guys."

Carole asked if we wanted to decorate cookies, and we all obviously agreed. Everyone shuffled out of the living room, and I stayed behind to wait for Blaine.

"You really are an amazing musician," I said, walking closer to him. "I'm glad that you let everyone hear one of your songs. I mean, I know it must have been personal…"

Blaine came closer to me, putting his hand on my arm and planting his lips on mine. I gasped into the kiss, relaxing a moment later and letting my eyes close.

"You're awfully good at this," he said as he pulled away.

"At what?"

"Acting."

* * *

><p><strong>Before you ask, <strong>_**no**_**I did not write that song****. That was 'Back to Where I Was', by Eric Hutchinson. It's a really great song, go listen to it. **

**Thank you to the ever lovely SarkyBlueEyes and liz-loz for helping me out with this. You both are fantastic. *insert heart here***

**Also, I changed my URL on Tumblr to blaineslosttwinsister. So, that weird person on your dash freaking out about The Hunger Games would be me. (: come say hi. **

_**REVIEW!**_


	9. Chapter 9 Blankets and Cider

Tonight was Puck's annual 'Glee Reunion Bonfire' at his aunt's lake house. He has it twice a year, once during winter break, and once during summer vacation (in which they also sleep outside), while everyone is back in Lima. His aunt is apparently never there, and is completely fine with him using it whenever he pleases. I, however, am not very fond of the _great outdoors_, and I take much pride in the fact that I've managed to get out of every single one of these get-togethers for the past two years. This always pisses Puck off, because apparently, _"the party isn't the same without me." _I don't see that the big deal is. It's not like I don't end up seeing everyone anyway, just not all at the same time.

Aunt Alice and Molly called this morning, asking me if Blaine and I wanted to meet at The Lima Bean for coffee. I agreed without Blaine's consent, assuming that it would be just fine with him. So here we were, turning off of the main road and into the small coffee shop.

"Oh hey," Blaine said as he looked up, "I totally know this place."

"Really?"

"Yeah, some of the Warblers and I used to come here all the time!"

My brow furrowed as I turned off the engine. _Warblers_…why does that sound so familiar? I gave him an inquisitive look, taking off my gloves.

"It was a group I was a part of in high school, not like, some kind of weird bird mafia or something."

"Warblers as in…the Dalton Academy Warblers?"

"Yes?"

"You went to Dalton?"

"You know _of _Dalton? It's in Westerville," he replied.

"Yes, but my glee club competed against your school."

"Oh."

We both got out of the car, slipping our hands into our coat pockets and listening to the sound of boots crunching against the badly plowed parking lot. I thought back to memories of my old show-choir competitions, trying to remember a certain glee club in particular. Images of boys clad in navy-blue blazers and ties popped into my head.

"Wait a minute, doesn't that school have like a ten-thousand dollar tuition fee?"

"How did you…?"

"I thought about enrolling once because of your whole 'no bullying' policy, but the cost was too high."

"You would have loved it there," Blaine said, looking me in the eyes as he held the door open for me.

I smirked at him, moving forward to get in line, "Maybe." I spotted Alice and Molly in front of us in line. "_Order for me_," I whispered to him quickly.

"What?"

"_Just do it_," I whispered again. My hand reached out and tapped Alice on the shoulder, causing her to promptly turn her head.

"Kurt, Blaine! How long have you been standing there?"

"Oh, just a second or two," I responded, taking a look at her dark brown, double-pocketed blazer. "I love this jacket, is it new?"

"Yes, it was a gift from Molly," she said, smiling as her fingers wound themselves around her partner's. Blaine smiled in appreciation as he watched the couple, his hand finding its way to the small of my back and resting there. There was a tiny bit of a flare in my chest, but not anything really that evident. Maybe I was finally starting to get used to this.

Molly moved up in line, over to the cash register. "Hi, can I have a venti Passion Tea, with lemon and honey, and a grande Skinny Caramel Macchiato, please?"

I looked over at Blaine, whose eyes were frantically reading over the menu board, no doubt trying to find the perfect drink to order me. I giggled to myself, amused by his slightly panicky state. He was snapped back into reality when the barista asked for the next customer, his face all the sudden returning to its previous charming demeanor. Alice and Molly stepped aside, waiting for their orders from a few feet away.

"Hello, Linda,"

I rolled my eyes as he read the barista's nametag. When did you decide to turn into my grandpa?

"Can I have a…" he looked back over to me for a moment, his smirk turning into a full out smile, "can I get a grande nonfat mocha for this guy and a medium drip for myself, please? Oh, and maybe a few of those chocolate biscotti's."

My eyes narrowed at him and I let out an unbelieving breathe of air. How the _fuck _did he know that? Maybe there's a class at Dalton called 'How to Tell Someone's Coffee Order by the Feeling of Their Anal Muscles 101'.

Alice and Molly's drinks were ready, and they grabbed them before motioning to a table in the corner. "That'll be $8.67," the barista replied after she punched the orders into the cash register. I slipped my debit card into Blaine's jacket pocket before walking over to my Aunts.

"He knows your coffee order," Alice said with a smile as I sat down. "always a sign of a good partner."

"Yeah," My eyes flickered over to the counter, where Blaine was patiently waiting for out coffees. "must be."

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I casually slipped it out as Alice and Molly discussed something about sperm donors.

From: Jackie:  
><strong>So how are things with McHomeless-son? <strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Hmm…McHomeless-son? Doesn't ring a bell.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Okay, fine. How are things with Blaine? <strong>

To: Jackie: _  
><em>Things are…astonishingly thrilling.

Blaine walked over to our table, putting the cups and biscotti down and sliding into the seat next to me.

"So, Blaine, about your sperm," Molly said suddenly. I was about to lash out a witty comment about Blaine's semen being all mine, but my phone distracted me.

From: Jackie:  
><strong>That was a very unnecessary use of big words, Kurt. What's happening over there in Ohio? <strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Oh, you know…the usual fake-relationship things that you see in every fake-relationship.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>So…hand holding?<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Correct.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Cuddling?<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Yes.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Kissing? <strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Mhm.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>I bet you enjoyed that, you adorable son-of-a-bitch. Hand-jobs? <strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Well…not necessarily…<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Wait…WHAT? That was supposed to be one of my 'too far' jokes that are way too vulgar for your sophisticated tastes.<br>**From: Jackie:  
><strong>YOU GUYS DID SEXUAL THINGS?<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>...<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>I want dirty details, Hummel, and I want them now. <strong>

To: Jackie:  
>I don't know…what do you want to know?<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>What did you guys do? I mean was it just a tentative blowjob or…<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Well, I mean, we had sex? Plain and simple.<br>To: Jackie:  
>…really really good sex…<br>To: Jackie:  
>…really really good, spur-of-the-moment sex…<br>To: Jackie:  
>Oh god, Jackie, it was fantastic.<br>To: Jackie:  
>...Jackie?<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Sorry, I think I'm about to cry. My little Kurty-baby is growing up. I mean, it seems like yesterday I was teaching you how to avoid alleys late at night, and now you're all on your own, having sex with hobos…<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Seriously Jackie, you're only two years older than me. And it's not like I was a virgin or anything.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Fly away, my little Hummel-bird. Don't look behind you or you'll see the bittersweet tears of my motherly love.<br>**From: Jackie:  
><strong>So did you top or bottom?<br>**From: Jackie:  
><strong>OH GOD IT WASN'T IN MY CAR, WAS IT?<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>No! Jackie, god! Why are you so obsessed with that concept?<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>Because I don't like people having sex in my vehicles, that's why!<strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Does this have something to do with your childhood? Did your parents have sex while you were hiding in the backseat?<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>I HATE YOU FOR PUTTING THAT IMAGE IN MY HEAD.<strong>

"Does your family have any bad health history? Like, for instance, diabetes, thyroid problems, etcetera, etcetera…"

"Nope, we're pretty much all perfectly healthy." Blaine responded. My mind snapped back into reality as I realized the foundation of their conversation was still on sperm donations.

"I think it's funny that you guys are actually having a legitimate conversation about this."

"There's nothing funny about conception, Kurt," Alice replied.

Well it's kind of fucking hilarious when it involves sperm donations from a hobo.

"No but seriously, you're freaking me out," I said.

"_Okay_, okay. We'll hold off on the come talk," Alice held up her hands defensively.

Molly and Blaine both giggled at the term 'come talk', sighing before taking another sip of their drinks.

To: Jackie:  
>Love you too, Jack (: I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later.<p>

From: Jackie  
><strong>I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you. <strong>

To: Jackie:  
>Goodbye, love.<p>

From: Jackie:  
><strong>I still hate you. <strong>

"So tell us how you met," Molly said with childlike excitement.

"A sushi bar," Blaine replied. Molly and Alice gave us the most disappointed look I have ever seen in my life. "I mean, it was a very_…_romantic sushi bar?"

"Wow, not to be rude or anything, but I kind of expected a couple as cute as you to have met in some insanely adorable way."

Go figure.

"It was a blind date," I added, "set up by my friend Jackie."

"That's more like it!" Molly said, leaning forward with interest. "Okay, Blaine, give me your very first impression of Kurt."

What is this? Couples therapy? Why the interrogation? Why do people have to find their romantic fix in other people's relationships? Why can't they just read freaking 'Pride and Prejudice' and be done with it?

"Well, I thought he was really hot, of course," Blaine said, lifting a hand towards me, "I mean, look at him."

"He _is_ very handsome," Alice agreed, winking at me, "go on."

"Well, there was something about him the night we met. He seemed very…outgoing and kind-hearted."

I mustered up my best romantic smile and pointed it full force towards Blaine. All I could think about is how dreadfully insane this inside joke was. This would definitely be an interesting story to tell the kids. The kids, of course, that I have when I actually find a suitable husband…one that's not a hobo.

…Right.

"…but yeah we just seemed to really click on the first date, so I asked him if he would accompany me to a movie later on that week. The rest is history."

Alice and Molly continued to wear their giddy smiles, just looking back and forth between Blaine and I. "First kiss?" Molly asked.

"The end of the first date," I chimed in, scooting closer to Blaine's side to link my arm around his. "Instead of taking the subway, he walked me home and we talked the whole way through. He kissed me outside my building after he asked if he could see me again."

Blaine looked at me with subtly raised eyebrows. I could tell that he was impressed with my improvisation.

"Oooohhh that's so cute! Kurt, I knew you'd find a great romance in New York, I just knew it!" Alice said. "Your face just screams 'woo me'."

"Yes," Blaine agreed with a smirk, "yes it does."

* * *

><p>It began snowing while we were at the coffee shop and there were a good couple of inches accumulated on the ground by the time we left. I drove cautiously down the road, mystified by the gentleness of the world around us covered in snow. There was a comfortable silence in the car as we drove, both of us just staring ahead, the snow softened sounds dulling our senses.<p>

"This is nice," Blaine said, slouching in the passenger seat.

"It is."

"Do you like winter?"

"Ohio snowy winters, yes. New York City snowy winters, no. Snow in the city just does not compare to this."

"Amen to that, there is probably a nauseating amount of slush on 52nd street right now."

I hummed in agreement. "I'm glad I'm home."

"Me too…"

I glanced over at Blaine curiously, only to find him watching me from the other side of the car.

"…and by that I mean here…with you…at your home."

"Got it," I replied with a shy smile. I turned into my driveway, put the car in park and shut off the engine.

"It's been a while since I've played in the snow…" Blaine beamed as he stared at the dashboard. He exited the car in a flash, disappearing behind the back for a minute and then reappearing at the front of the vehicle, leaning against the hood.

I glared at him suspiciously as I stayed still in my seat. I hadn't even started to get up, and my seat belt was still buckled at my side.

"You coming?" he asked, pulling his gloves out of his coat pocket and slipping them on. I shook my head slowly, discreetly lifting my hand to the door handle anyways, ready to make a run for it. Straight away, I unbuckled my seat belt and pushed the door open, my feet quickly carrying me across the snowy driveway to the front porch. My breath came in visible puffs in the frigid air as I flung the storm door open, stopping when I realized that the house was locked. I gradually turned around, realizing that I had left the keys in the ignition.

Blaine was leaning against the driver's side door with a smirk on his face, the car keys in one hand and a snowball in the other. I walked cautiously down the steps, watching the hand that held the snowball very carefully for any sudden movements.

His hand twitched and I made a run for it, sprinting down the rest of the steps and across the lawn to the side of the house. The snow on the ground was about a foot deep with tiny layer of ice on the top, it was hard to run in, to say the least. Blaine followed behind me, and I could hear the keys jiggling in his pocket as he hopped through the snow. While I was turning to look at him, my foot caught on a hard patch of snow and I fell forward, the soft snow breaking my fall. I turned on my back to see Blaine standing over me, the snowball still in his hand.

"Oh dear god please don't," I breathed.

He tossed the snowball up in the air, and caught it in his hand again. "One condition."

"What?"

Blaine threw the snowball a couple of feet away from us and dropped to his knees in the snow next to me, still panting from running through the yard. "We go out tonight," he replied with a smile.

I smiled back at him, lifting myself up slightly and leaning on the back of my elbows. Jesus, why didn't he just say that in the first place? "And where, might I ask?"

Blaine lay down on his stomach next to me, resting his body up on his elbows. "Oh, nowhere special," he leaned over, catching my lips in a spur-of-the-moment kiss. I pulled away skeptically, my eyes searching his for answers.

"Where?" I asked more seriously this time, my tone giving away traces of doubt.

"Puck's lake house?"

"Noooooo…" I let my head fall back as I looked up towards the snowy sky. Of course, the kiss was meant to butter me up. "…absolutely not."

"I already told him that we're coming," Blaine smiled.

"You did what now?"

"C'mon Kurt, it'll be fun!"

"Do you see _me _and fire getting along, Blaine? Is that something you think I consider _fun_?"

"I don't know, I can definitely see you having a bit of a 'pyro side to that _darling _personality of yours," he teased.

"Oh yes, because everything about me just _screams _redneck."

Blaine stared at me for a moment before chuckling, "You are the queen of sarcasm."

"Okay, no, na-ah, I am definitely not going after you called me a queen."

"Oh come on, Kurt! Please?"

"No, no, absolutely not, no,"

Blaine leaned forward again and silenced me with another kiss. I shut my eyes this time, my nose unconsciously breathing in his scent. "Don't you want to show off your 'amazing' boyfriend to all your old friends?" He whispered as he softly pulled away, his cheeky grin ever-so-evident in his voice.

Well, yes, showing him off to all of the people who taunted their relationships in my face all during high school _does _sound terrific. My eyes drifted over his features which were illuminated by the bright white world around us. His hair looked soft, curly, and chocolaty, perfectly touchable in the light. He gave off a very handsome glow in his jacket and scarf, his eyes a shining green with flecks of gold. He was the perfect trophy boyfriend.

"Fine," I muttered, "but only for like, ten minutes. Half an hour tops!"

"Jesus, Kurt, you'd think it would be _my _friends that we were seeing tonight," Blaine replied.

* * *

><p>It almost seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere. We'd been driving down a road that goes through the woods for about ten minutes now, and there weren't any houses in sight.<p>

"I'm starting to think that we're going to a mass killing, and not a bonfire party." I mumbled, switching my high-beams on.

"Yeah, well you know Puck a hell of a lot better than I do," Blaine replied, craning his head to look out of the windows around us.

The destination inched its way down on the GPS screen, along with a large blue blob, which must have been a symbol for the lake. A large, beautiful house came into view behind the trees. I gaped up at the home, also checking the address that Puck gave me to make sure that this was actually the place.

"Well this is unexpected…" I parked along the curb, close to the house. There were 4 or 5 other cars parked outside in front of us, and the air was rich with the smell of burning wood, so I figured that this must be it.

Blaine and I exited the car and walked up to the fence which led to the backyard. After a second or two of tentatively walking in the darkness, we saw the orange light of the fire and bunch of silhouettes standing around it. As we got closer, we could see the moon shining against the lake that was surrounded by a snowy beach. I had to admit, it was absolutely beautiful.

"KURT'S HERE!" I heard Tina yell. _Awww, Tina! _I miss her! Mercedes and Tina ran up to me, swallowing me in a group hug.

"Blaine! You actually got him to come. I'm impressed," Puck said from his seat near the fire. Oh, of course, Puck _would _put Blaine up to this. The freaking bastard had to go behind my back, didn't he.

"I told you I would, didn't I?" Blaine responded.

"Kurt," Mercedes whispered as she pulled out of the hug, giving me questioning eyes. "Who's this?"

"Oh…this is my boyfriend, Blaine."

"_You got a boyfriend and you didn't tell me_?"

"I…It must have…slipped my mind."

"Hi, I'm Blaine," he held his hand out for Mercedes to shake, his eyes squinting in a warm smile. She eyed his hand, giving him a head nod and a polite smile instead of shaking it.

"Mercedes," she responded, "and I appreciate the greeting, but I just saw the movie 'Contagion' so hand shaking kind of skeeves me out right now."

"Hi," Tina said to Blaine, "I'm Tina, and this is my fiancé, Mike."

I gasped at the word 'fiancé'. "WHAT? Since when?"

"Since Christmas Eve," Tina said with a huge grin, leaning her head up to peck Mike on the lips.

"Am I the only one who doesn't know about this?"

"Pretty much," Santana said, coming up to hug me with Brittany on her heels.

"I missed my unicorn so much," Brittany said as she hugged me. "Santana's almost a full grown unicorn, you know, but her horn still has some growing to do. Right now it's just a little stub," she whispered in my ear. I giggled, hugging her back quickly and then pulled away.

"So how long has this been going on?" Santana asked, pointing between Blaine and I.

"About a month," Blaine responded.

"A _month_?" Mercedes gawked, "_And you didn't tell me_."

"I'm really sorry about that 'Cedes," I said, feeling genuinely guilty, "if it makes you feel better, I didn't tell anyone else about it either."

"He told meeeeee," Rachel said in a sing-song voice as she sipped from a mug by the fire.

Mercedes narrowed her eyes at me, "We'll talk about this later."

We all walked back over to the fire pit, pulling our gloves off and warming our hands by the fire. "Jesus, Puck, it's freezing. How the hell do you guys do this every year?"

"Blankets and alcohol," he responded, pointing to a table a couple of feet away which had some folded blankets and a crock-pot sitting on top of it. "There's some spiked hot apple cider over there, warms you up real quick."

"Sit down," Blaine said quietly, gesturing towards the love-seat by the fire. "I'll go get us some blankets."

I scooted the large chair closer to the fire before nestling myself on one side of it.

Sam Evans and Artie Abrams came into the backyard a moment after I sat down. "Hey guys!" Sam yelled, his arms in the air. I eyed Mercedes, who had just sat down on the cushioned seat adjacent to mine. She watched him with pure wonder, following his movements as he greeted everyone, no doubt waiting for him to get to her. Mercedes and Sam had broken up the summer after graduation, agreeing to go their separate ways because of college. Even though she doubts my questioning, I personally think she's still in love with him. I mean, _come on_, just look at that hopeful look in her eyes.

He finally spotted her, quickly walking over to us. "Mercedes!"

She got up from her seat with a wide smile, accepting his hug without hesitation. "Samuel Evans," she said as she pulled away, "how is Connecticut treating you?"

"It's been pretty good, but I miss you guys a hell of a lot." He said, smiling at her for a moment before pulling her into another hug. "Especially you," I heard him say to her quietly.

Blaine came back a minute later, handing me a mug of hot cider. I clung to the warmth of the heated glass of the mug and watched as Blaine put his cup down, sitting next to me and laying two plush blankets horizontally over our laps. I nestled myself into his side out of instinct, hoping for some warmth in the form of body heat. Blaine smirked, picking up his mug again and putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Warm?" he asked.

"Getting there."

"Kurt! Hey, you finally came outside with us!" Sam exclaimed, noticing me as he pulled a chair next to Mercedes.

"Yes, I was dragged by this one," I replied, motioning to Blaine.

"Sam Evans," he introduced himself, extending his hand to Blaine.

"Blaine Anderson," Blaine replied as he reached over to shake Sam's hand.

"So you and Kurt are together?"

"Yes," I responded, "I brought him here with me from New York."

Sam nodded, "And how are you liking Ohio, Blaine?" he asked with a grin.

"Well, it's just as I remember it. I grew up here, not much has changed."

"Oh, you did? Where?"

"Westerville," Blaine replied.

"Hmm, I've never been there myself, but I've heard it's a nice place to live."

"It was."

I took a sip from the mug in my hands, pleasantly surprised to find that the cider tasted absolutely delicious. I leaned further into Blaine, letting the back of my head rest by his shoulder.

"Puck, this is actually really good," I told him.

"Thank you, Kurt," he nodded his head, raising the mug in his hand a little. "I got a job at a country club as a bartender a few months ago and they taught me how to make a bunch of stuff."

"Livin' the dream," Santana said with a sly smirk as she cuddled under a blanket with Brittany.

"Yes, Satan, as a matter of fact it _is _the dream," he spat back defensively. "I serve alcohol to desperate bridesmaids _multiple _times a week. I don't think a job can give a better bonus than many chances to have hot, frantic sex. And the next day, I don't even have to kick them out of my place, they almost always end up leaving on their own."

"Oh god," Santana scowled, "you are probably a _cesspool _of diseases."

"Oh! Santana, that reminds me!" Brittany practically jumped out of her seat in excitement. "My loan got approved today! I can start building the studio!"

"Really? Honey, that's amazing!" Santana replied, hugging Brittany's waist. "Wait…how did that remind you…?"

"I…I don't know," Brittany responded with blissfully ignorant eyes. "But I can finally start the dance studio! Isn't that amazing?"

I smiled as I watched Santana pull Brittany forward to kiss her on the lips. They were fighting with each other the last time I was here, and it was nice to see them getting along so well. My eyes drifted up at Blaine, who was also watching them with a grin. He must have noticed me looking, because his eyes caught mine a moment later. His smile grew, and he stared back at me before pressing a kiss to my forehead.

Another flare rose from my gut and I found myself smiling brighter at him. It was probably too much, but I didn't care. I was perfectly comfortable, wrapped in soft blankets with a hot drink in my hands, curled up next to a gorgeous man. I just didn't care.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Puck got up to put more logs on the fire. We had all been talking about our lives and what had happened since we saw each other last. Artie pulled out a guitar (practically out of nowhere) and played some old songs that we had sung before in Glee club.<p>

"Remember 'Don't stop believing'?" Rachel asked Finn with a grin.

"How could I forget it?" he responded, curling his arm around her, "that was the first good song we ever sang together."

"I'm pretty sure those harmonies will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life," Tina included.

"I know what you mean," I raised my hand, "I even caught myself doing those little 'da da's in the shower last week."

Tina gave me a look, which I knew to be a look that meant 'we should sing'. I smirked, doing the little 'da da's from the beginning of the song. Tina joined in a moment later, nudging Mike to come in as well. Soon enough, we all hopped on the bandwagon and began singing the song softly, in a quiet reminiscence. Everyone had a smile on their faces, it had been the first time we really sang together in years. Blaine watched with a sweet smirk, admiring the harmonies and rhythms that flew through the night air.

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, no one got drunk. It must have been the warmth of the fire and the peacefulness of the night, not even Puck had ruined it by getting wasted.<p>

I just kind of stared at the fire for a while, getting hypnotized by the flaring hues of the red coals and the constantly changing flames. Some people went inside the lake house, curious to see the inside of the giant home. I didn't want to move a muscle from my spot. I was too warm and comfortable, and I knew that getting up meant immediate coldness.

The only few left still around the fire were me, Blaine, Mercedes, Sam, Brittany, and Santana. Brittany and Santana were at the other side of the fire, kissing each other while wrapped up in a sleeping bag. Sam and Mercedes had been talking the whole evening, giggling and totally in a trance of each other's company. I really hope that they're going to get back together. She just looks so happy when she's with him.

"We're gonna go take a walk around the lake," Mercedes declared as she got up, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. Sam did the same, a wide grin showing as they walked out of the light of the fire and into the moonlight. I lifted myself up a little on the seat, so that my head was level with Blaine's.

"Aren't they adorable?" I asked Blaine.

"They're precious. How long have they been together?"

"They're not," I responded, "they haven't been since high school, but I think that might just be changing right now." My grin widened as I watched their silhouettes melding together in the distance.

"So…'half an hour tops', huh?" Blaine said with a smile.

I nudged him playfully, and my mug slipped a little in my hand, sending hot liquid onto Blaine's arm. "Oh my god, Blaine! I'm so sorry!"

Blaine winced in pain, squirming in his seat as he lifted his arm up. I felt so fucking bad, and I tried to cool it down lamely by fanning my hands onto his wet sleeve. His groans slowly turned into laughs.

"What's so funny?"

"God, I'm kidding, Kurt," he said, shifting the blanket back over us and slouching with a stupid smile on his face. "It wasn't that hot."

"You're such an ass," my smile betrayed my annoyance.

"Oh please, you love my ass-ery," Blaine leaned forward slowly, both of us smiling before our lips met. His hand crept over to cradle the side of my face as the kiss deepened, and my brow furrowed at the feeling of his tongue sliding against my lower lip. I didn't know what to make of this, this affection that he showed when no one seemed to be around. But I didn't want to think about it too hard. I felt like that would ruin the beauty of it.

We broke away for air a few minutes later, both of us looking back at the fire with contempt grins on our faces. Blaine sighed happily, taking another sip of cider and shifting a little in the seat.

"How were you able to afford Dalton?" I asked suddenly.

Blaine tilted his head to look at me, his expression turning a little solemn, as if he expected the question to come. "Why do you want to know?"

I thought about it for a minute, my eyes staring into the dancing flames. "If you can't tell already, Blaine, you confuse me…a lot," I spoke softly, "I feel like I need to know something that's completely true about you, or else I'll lose sight of what's fact and what's fiction."

Blaine looked up to the sky, his eyes lazily gazing at the scattered stars amidst the darkness. "Well, for starters, my father is an entrepreneur. He owns some restaurants and stores in northern Ohio. My family has been wealthy for as long as I can remember. We've never suffered financially. My father has always had the money to do whatever he pleased. So, I was able to go to Dalton."

I just stared at him, trying to read his features. I hadn't even thought about the idea that his family was rich. It boggled my mind that a person could let someone as loving as Blaine go in a heartbeat. He kept looking at the sky, his expressions emotionless.

"So how did I end up on the streets of New York if my father sits on a fucking goldmine?" he asked contemptuously, his tone then changing from cold to gentle as his eyes moved back to meet mine, "Not every father is as loving as yours, Kurt."

I didn't know what to do. I could tell that he was uncomfortable, and that he hated to talk about his past. Everything that went through my brain as a possibility to say out loud seemed too close, too inappropriate, and dangerously similar to things that were way too deep for this relationship. My heart longed to tell him that I wanted to be there for him, that I didn't want him to live like this anymore, and that I wanted him to just be safe. I wasn't even aware of who his father was or what he did to him, but I hated him for letting Blaine turn out like this. I despised him for breaking him down to this point.

I just wanted to make everything okay again, and I attempted to do that in the only way I knew how. I leaned forward, crashing my lips over his in a passionate kiss. Desperation willed itself to work through my lips, to show Blaine how much I unknowingly cared for him, and how I wanted his life to be the best possible thing it could be, because he deserved it. He deserves happiness, not isolation or banishment. How could his father have been so stupid leave him defenseless like this?

I couldn't tell how much time had passed when we broke apart. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, I didn't know. Blaine's eyes were filled with unshed tears, and I could tell that he was trying his hardest not to let them spill out.

"Thank you," he whispered, before pulling me into a hug. My eyes stung a little at his hoarse words, and I was so relieved to find that my message was somehow able to get to him. I couldn't talk because I didn't trust what would come out of my mouth. Instead, I slid down until my head rested underneath his neck, where I listened to the faint sounds of his heartbeat. Our arms slid around each other, holding tight to each other as our eyes eventually closed.

* * *

><p>I woke up a couple of hours later to Blaine tapping me on the shoulder. It was still pitch-black out, and all that was left of the fire were hot coals in the pit. I was absolutely freezing and gave no argument when his hands pulled me up and on my feet.<p>

Blaine picked up our blankets and we walked sleepily towards the lake house, opening to door to find everyone asleep in what appeared to be an entertainment room. He took my hand, walking me over to an empty couch and laying down. I slid into his arms without faltering, my arms curling around his sides. I closed my eyes and began to fall back to sleep as he lay the blankets back over us.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so here's the deal. I want to include a couple of more fluff pieces before we get to the climax of the plot, and I thought it would be a cool idea to let you guys fill me in on what you want to see. It could be anything from a simple idea to a whole kink prompt, if you so choose. This will be your only chance to do this for this story, so send me your ideas! I'd pick my favorites, and then write them into the story! You can leave your prompts in a review on here or in my tumblr ask box. <strong>

**So anywho, things are slowly starting to get more and more complicated. Let me know what you think of the chapter! Review!**

**And as always, I absolutely love making new friends, so come talk to me on tumblr. (:**


	10. Chapter 10 The Musical About Firemen

**Yeah, I know. I'm late again. This chapter has smut in it, by the way, so I hope that makes up for the wait.**

* * *

><p>I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through the glass doors of the lake house. My eyes opened slowly, and I took in the color of the wall that I was facing. It was a subtle dark green, with a single landscape painting in the center of it. My gaze drifted lower, to the top of the couch, and then finally to Blaine, who I was curled up against. I closed my eyes again and shifted my head on his chest. His head was resting on top of mine and a sigh of contentment left me as I tried to fall asleep again.<p>

Blaine let out a sigh as well, and his arm rewound itself around my waist. The corner of my mouth twisted into a smirk as I let myself be pulled closer to him. He hummed a faint tune lightly in my ear, and I couldn't help but smile at the resonance, my eyes still closed in my sleepy state.

"Good morning, Kurt," he whispered to me. I felt his lips press lightly against my forehead and that familiar swooping sensation in my stomach returned.

"Morning, Blaine," I whispered back as I tilted my head up to look at his sleepy smile. His curly hair was ruffled from the night and it was extremely endearing.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Of course," I felt his thumb trace lightly over my hip from under the blanket, and I closed my eyes again, basking in comfort. I think I would be perfectly happy if I never had to move again. The blankets were nice and soft, and the couch was perfect for lying on. Blaine held me close and safe, I felt as if all of my cares were simply melting away into the fabrics of the couch. These are some pretty deep thoughts for 7 in the morning, but it's nice. It's really, really nice.

Blaine began placing feather light kisses on and around my forehead, getting closer to my lips. I leaned into his touch, actually enjoying the sensation in my stomach this time. No one has really ever made me feel like this before.

A small thought popped into my brain just before he reached my lips and I flinched back suddenly, my hand stopping me from falling off the couch with a loud 'thump!'

"No!" I yelped. Blaine looked down at me, looking confused and slightly hurt. "I—we—I didn't brush my teeth, I'm _definitely _not going to put you through that," I hushed down to a whisper. God, morning breath would absolutely kill this mood.

Wait…I probably already just killed the mood…

I looked behind me, seeing that we were waking everyone else up. "We should probably go," I whispered again, giving him an apologetic look. Blaine nodded, sat up and pulled the blankets off of us.

* * *

><p>Finn had got up around the same time as us, because he had to go to work at the garage. He had come here with Rachel the night before and he didn't want to wake her up, so he asked us for a ride home.<p>

"Wow, I didn't know you could have a walk of shame with two other people," I said as I turned my key into the lock of the front door.

Blaine chuckled, "That is _extremely _kinky,"

"Still here," Finn said from behind us. I laughed, to which Blaine giggled a little. Finn stood there, rubbing at his forehead while his cheeks turned bright red. He disappeared up the stairs as soon as I opened the door.

"So did you enjoy yourself?" Blaine asked as we walked towards the basement door.

I turned around, my only response being a knowing smirk sent his way.

"I knew it."

"Oh please, it's only because you were there," I said as we went down the steps, then stopping for a moment when I realized what I just said. My feet stopped moving, and my eyes widened as I turned around slightly.

"It's alright," Blaine said with a grin, moving past me on the stairs, "I had a good time too."

I stood there for a while, a smile slowly appearing on my face as I watched him disappear into my bedroom.

That charming bastard.

My face felt so disgusting from another night of missing my moisturizing routine. As soon as we were back in my room, I went into the bathroom and began the process, splashing my face with water. Blaine walked over to the sink as well and picked up his toothbrush along with the tube of toothpaste. I watched his actions while massaging facial wash into my skin.

"What?" he asked, squeezing some toothpaste onto a toothbrush.

"Oh, nothing."

"What, you think I'm brushing my teeth just so I can kiss you?"

"It would appear that way."

"No," he responded, smiling and putting the toothbrush in his mouth, "just because I won't still have morning breath doesn't mean _you _won't still have morning breath."

I simply gave Blaine a certain look and continued my routine, washing the cleanser off my skin and moving on to the next tube.

"So, what did you think of everyone?"

"They're really nice!" Blaine responded from behind the toothbrush, which was clouded with toothpaste foam. I grinned and watched him through the mirror. "They sure do like to um…show affection, don't they?"

"Well yeah," I said, thinking about to how Finn and Rachel spent half the night with each other's tongues down their throat, "but most of them are in long-distance relationships right now, so this week is basically the only time they get to see each other. I mean, I know I would be _all over _my boyfriend if I hadn't seen him for months."

Blaine's eyes found mine while he smirked, and I was very thankful that the cream on my face managed to hide my blush. He made a little hum of acknowledgment and continued brushing his teeth. A minute later he finished and reached over me to grab the mouthwash out of the cabinet. He poured some of the liquid into the cap, and tipped it into his mouth. Blaine swished the mouthwash around a little before he tilted his head back and started to gargle. The sound that came from him was ridiculously high pitched, and he started to wiggle his hands around at the burn of the alcohol.

"You sound like an African tribal toddler," I said, wiping some lotion off my face.

Blaine must have found that amusing, because a strangled hitching noise came from somewhere in his throat and he suddenly stopped gargling and ran towards the sink with wide eyes. I moved out of the way as he spit the mouthwash out and proceeded to cough heavily into the sink.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he said with a chuckle in between coughs as he leaned over the linoleum. I doubled over with laughter; my eyes squinting as I idly pointed a finger at him. "I'll take that as a yes," he replied, cupping some water into his hands and trying to use it (to) swish out the burning in his throat.

I continued to giggle to myself as he finished up and went back into the bedroom. Five or ten minutes later he came back into the room, stripping his shirt off upon arrival.

"I'm gonna take a shower if that's alright with you," he said, continuing to remove his clothes. My eyes went wide and I stared intently at my face in the mirror, trying to ignore the presence of a man getting naked in the corner of my eye.

"Oh…um yeah…sure…" I squinted my eyes shut and began washing what was on my face off as a distraction. My heart was finally able to calm down a little when I heard the glass doors of the shower open and close, the water turning on next. I opened my eyes again, and sure enough, my cheeks were an embarrassingly bright hue of pink.

I reached into the cabinet for my toothbrush and busied myself with oral hygiene, all the while trying to forget about the fact that there was a gorgeous naked man within ten feet of me.

I looked up in the mirror to see Blaine poking his head out of the shower, his curls wet and dripping. "You're brushing your teeth?"

"No, I am checking my gums for microscopic aliens."

"That's good, you can never be too safe about that stuff," he replied, poking his head back into the shower, and resuming his business I assume.

I smirked and continued to brush my teeth. A moment later I heard humming coming from the shower and strained my ears to listen.

"_Gitchi gitchi ya ya da da,_" came Blaine's voice from inside the shower, "_Gitchi gitchi ya ya here_."

"_Mocha chocolata ya ya,_" I sang back in enjoyment.

"_CREOLE LADY MARMALAAAAAAADE!_" he belted out in ridiculous falsetto.

I exploded with silent laughter, the back of my hand covering my mouth as I held in my silent fit of giggles, catching myself in the mirror as I did so. My nose was crinkled and my eyes were shining with amusement. I don't think I've ever actually _seen _myself laugh like this. When I finally composed myself, I moved onto the mouthwash as Blaine continued the song. A minute later I was done, and about to leave the bathroom.

"Hey, Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you hand me the shampoo, please? I think I left it on the sink."

I looked behind me, and sure enough, there was a bottle of shampoo sitting on the edge. I grabbed the bottle and walked over to the shower, knocking my finger on the glass doors. Blaine opened the door a little, poking his head out, "Oh thank you," he said, looking down at my hand.

He opened the glass door a little bit wider, and reached out, to grab the bottle, I assumed. However, he did not grab the bottle of shampoo from me. His wet hand grabbed hold of my wrist and pulled me quickly into the shower and under the stream of water. "OH MY GO—"I yelped before Blaine's mouth covered mine. He pushed me by the waist against the shower wall, pressing his naked body against my clothed one and kissed me hard on the mouth. I melted into him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. My bugged out eyes began to close and I was kissing him back once the initial shock wore away.

He kissed down my jaw, his fingers quickly unbuttoning the top of my soaked shirt. "You didn't let me kiss you earlier," he breathed, mouthing into the crook of my neck.

"My god, _Blaine_," I groaned, pulling him back up so I could meet his mouth. "You can't just," I said in between kisses, "pull me…into your fucking…shower…"

Blaine pushed the shirt off my shoulders and reached down to grab my undershirt and lift it over my head. "Is that a complaint?" he asked, a cocky smirk displayed on the face that was so very close to mine. He kissed me again, his tongue inching its way into my mouth and mingling with my own.

"No, 's not a complaint," I breathed, and then pulled him closer so that our bare chests could meet. Water cascaded onto both of our heads, running down our shoulders and bounced off of our skin. All that could be heard was the faucet running mixed with the sound of heavy breathing. My hands roamed around Blaine's torso, splayed across his back and chest as I sensed my way around his body. I could feel his muscles move around from under his skin as he unbuttoned my jeans, tugging them down roughly and let them fall to my feet.

He calmed down a little once I was naked, his movements becoming slower and his hands settling on my waist. I cradled his face in my hands, kissing him smoothly and leisurely, enjoying the warmth of the shower. We pulled away to breath and rested our foreheads against one another, staring into each other's eyes.

"Hi."

"Hello," I replied, smiling back at him.

Blaine's eyes glanced over to the small shelf in the corner of the shower, and he reached over, grabbing a bottle of body wash. "Can't waste a perfectly good shower, right?"

I let out a breathy chuckle, leaning back against the wall and watching him as he opened the bottle and squeezed some of the gel into his hand. He mixed the soap, cupping in his hands a little, before flattening them out against my abdominals. I watched as he moved his hands slowly up to my chest and around my shoulders. His eyes were fixated on my pale skin, and on the soapy bubbles that were forming on top of it. This continued for a few minutes, his hands worshipping my chest and arms, rubbing slow small circles of soap into my skin with his palms.

"You…are…gorgeous," he whispered, his gaze now on my face.

I stared back at him, my right hand reaching down to grab his and lift it up so that our hands entwined underneath the spray of water. "You're far too kind."

Blaine hummed in recognition. "I could say the same about you," he replied, smiling ironically before leaning forward and kissing me slowly. His grip on my hand firmed as I slid my tongue against his bottom lip, and he granted me access to his mouth immediately. Blaine's other arm slid around my back, pulling me closer against his body. I lifted my left hand up his chest and twined my arm around his neck, tilting my head so I could explore him deeper with my tongue. Our hands were still entwined on my right, tugging and tightening the hold on each other's fingers.

Blaine pushed us up against the wall, and I could feel his growing erection pressing against my upper thigh. I pushed myself into his groin, making note of his sharp intake of air and the low, barely audible hum in the back of his throat. My arm unhooked itself from around his neck and I slid down on the wall slowly, licking a trail down his chest with my tongue, following the droplets of water that descended to his hips. I finally detangled my fingers from his, letting them trace across his abs and then taking his cock in my hand. My face nuzzled into his thigh, and I pressed kisses to the clear wet expanse of skin as I stroked him slowly.

I looked up at Blaine, who had his head tilted back and his eyes shut in bliss. Taking him fully in my hand, I licked the tip of his head experimentally, savoring the quiet, low whine that he let out. My lips lowered themselves down more, and I took my time, slowly taking him in my mouth. I let my eyes fall shut and leisurely bobbed my head, going from the tip to as far down as I could go. The slow rhythm continued, and I braced myself by supporting my weight against the wall as I continued to take him on.

My hands reached beneath my lips, taking his balls and rolling them gently between my palms. Blaine let out a stuttered moan, and the sound went straight to my cock. I let my one of my hands lose grip of his balls and reached down to yank at my erection, yearning for some sort of relief. My mouth detached from Blaine's cock with a lewd 'pop', and I mouthing at the side of it, moving down further along the base. The hand that I wasn't jerking off with ran between his ass cheeks, running over and encircling his hole, before pushing lightly against it. I lowered my tongue down, flicking it against his ball sack and then taking them into my mouth. Holy shit, I'm really getting into this, aren't I?

Blaine keened loudly above me, and I felt his knees buckle a little bit as he braced a hand against the wall for balance. He pulled himself away from my mouth, obviously trying to hold off on his orgasm before it came too soon.

Blaine clenched his jaw, looking down at me. "Hold on tight," he said. All of a sudden he reached down to my thighs, sliding my body back up the wall so we were eye level again. My arms flailed a little in surprise, truly shocked at the fact that he was strong enough to lift me so easily.

My feet finally planted themselves on the tile floor as Blaine kissed me passionately, leaning his body into mine. Our tongues met and Blaine whimpered out loud at the heady taste of himself on my lips. His hips thrust forward while our mouths were connected, pushing me into the wall behind me and pressing his cock against mine. My hips pressed forward against his, creating an unsteady rhythm between us. I opened my eyes and glanced down, wanting to see what was happening. It was a mess of skin, abs against abs and hips against hips. We pushed into each other frantically, aligning our cocks so that we could feel each other's hardness. I reached my hand down between us, taking both of our erections in my hand and pumping up and down, my eyes closing at the instant pleasure stirring in my stomach.

Blaine let out another loud grunt, and kissed me roughly, all teeth and tongue. "My god, that's so hot," he said as he gazed in between us. His eyes met mine for a second, a twinge of a smirk showing before he took my thighs in his hands again, spreading them apart and lifting me higher on the wall. He wrapped my thighs around his waist, so that his hips and arms were the only thing keeping me from falling down. My hand had stilled in shock from the new position, my back pressed tightly against the tile and my legs encircled around Blaine's waist. He bucked into my hand, creating rapid friction again, and leaned forward to taste me again. "M'so close," Blaine breathed as he pulled away, leaning his head into the crook of my neck as he continued to thrust.

"Me too," I responded, just barely able to stifle my moan.

"Finn's at the garage isn't he?" Blaine said, grunting low in his throat before continuing. "No one's home. I want to hear you," he lowered a hand down to where I still held our erections and entwined his fingers with mine around the two cocks. He guided my hand in a fast pace, all the while still thrusting up into the circle of fingers that we had created.

I obliged his request, yelling out as a huge orgasm overcame my body. I felt the thickness of my come spread across our fingers and stomachs, mingling with the water that was trapped between us. His name was tumbling off my lips again, like there was absolutely nothing that was going to stop it from happening. A moment later Blaine came as well, spilling himself over on both of us. His arms weakened during his orgasm, losing their grasp on my thighs, and I slid down the bottom of the shower in a post-orgasmic haze. Blaine knelt down as well, joining me as we both sat leaning against the wall of the shower, our naked legs tangled in front of us under the stream of water.

"That just happened…" I gazed at the other wall of the shower, wide eyed, images flashing through my mind.

"It did," he replied, still breathing a little heavily and then smiling at me. "I**t** was nice."

"Nice?"

"Nice."

"I don't get an, 'amazing' or 'awe-inspiring', I just get a nice?"

"Yes, Kurt, the things you did with your mouth were splendid. Well done," he said with a chuckle, lifting his hand to cradle the side of my face and pressed a kiss to my lips. The corners of my mouth tilted in a smile as I kissed back, moving my lips against his.

"_This is crazy_."

"What's crazy?" Blaine pulled away, looking into my eyes with a hint of doubt.

That you and I ended up like this. That I met you on the streets of New York last week and here we are, holding each other like we've been doing it our whole lives. That I've done more lying in the past few days,than I ever have in my whole life. That I'm probably risking a lot of people's trust by continuing this.

"My clothes are lying in a wet heap underneath us, and I'm pretty sure the zipper on my jeans is digging into my ass."

Blaine laughed, lifting himself off of the tile floor and reaching his hand down to help me us as well.

* * *

><p>That evening I walked into the living room to find Blaine, Sam, and Finn talking amongst themselves.<p>

"…and then our dog Jackson came up and bit the egg roll _right _out of Kurt's hand and he ended up accidentally spilling coffee all over the poor animal,"

"Wait," Finn said, holding up a hand. "I thought your dog's name was Hector?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," Blaine replied quickly.

"I'm gonna do it!" Sam said abruptly, holding his phone. "I'm gonna do it."

"Do what?" I asked.

"Ask Mercedes out," Finn responded. I beamed, walking closer in interest and sitting down on the couch.

"Oh you absolutely have to! You two have always been perfect for each other," I said.

"You really think so?"

"Of course!"

"You _were _there last night, weren't you?" Blaine added. "You guys were wrapped up in each other's eyes all night!"

"Yeah, well so were you and Blaine!" Sam said.

"Well…that's because we're _also _perfect for each other."I wore a coy smile. Blaine glanced at me, and I ignored him, focusing on Sam. "Mercedes _totally _likes you, and I'm sure she's dying to see you again before she leaves."

"I…I…what if it's awkward? Last night we were with all of you, and there wasn't any pressure."

"We'll double date!" Blaine exclaimed, his eyes widening with enthusiasm.

"That's actually a great idea. Plus, Mercedes said that she wanted to hang out again before Blaine and I left."

"Hey! Rachel and I will totally come with you guys!" Finn said, perking up from where he was slouching on the sofa.

"No offence Finn…but…no," Sam replied.

"What? Why?"

"Like I said, no offence, but I don't want you guys bringing your 'crazy' along with us."

I forced out a believable giggle, looking at the ground in incredulity. He thinks _we're _the normal couple. _Oh god_, the irony.

"We are not _crazy_!"

Sam and I looked at Finn critically, giving him an 'are you serious?' glare. "You are crazy in so many ways it is ridiculous," I said.

"No, you're just saying that because of high school," Finn defended.

"Blaine?" Sam asked, nodding to the brown haired man across the room.

"…yeah, you guys are kind of crazy," Blaine said regretfully, "but not like a bad kind of crazy, like, a 'I enrolled my child into a dance class at the age of two and made sure they knew three languages by the time they were eight' kind of crazy."

"Yes, you mean well, but you have _way _too much conflict to be invited on a first double date," I said.

"Whatever," Finn sighed, slouching back into his chair.

"So are you going to ask her or what?"

Sam smiled, finally dialing the numbers into his phone. "Here goes nothing."We all watched as he put the phone up to his ear, the faint sound of a ringing tone humming through the room. "Hello, Mercedes?...Yeah, it's Sam…I know…you're right, we haven't talked on the phone in a while…Listen 'Cedes?...would you maybe like to go into Columbus tomorrow night?...I was thinking we could go do something and maybe go out to dinner…Kurt and Blaine can even come along…"

We all smiled as we listened to Sam talk, his eyes wide with hope. He suddenly beamed, the corners of his huge mouth turning into a smile

"Great! I'll um…how about I'll pick you up around 3? ... Awesome! ... great … I can't wait either."We all laughed, watching Sam blush and try to shush us by waving his hands. "I'll see you then…bye 'Cedes."

"_Goooooing to the Chapel and we're gooooooonna get maaaarried,_" I sang playfully, getting up from the couch and dancing my way into the kitchen.

"It's a little bit too early for that, don't you think Kurt?" Sam said, but there was no hiding the stupid grin on his face.

I ignored him, walking out of the doorway and into the kitchen, "_Goooooing to the Chapel and we're gooooooonna get maaaa-aaaaa-arried._" I danced my way into the kitchen, yelling back while I opened the fridge. "I think I'm going to make some tea, do you guys want some?"

"No, but we'll take 3 cokes," Finn yelled back. The sound of the PlayStation starting echoed from the living room and I rolled my eyes, taking 3 glasses and a mug out from the cabinet.

"_Gee, I really love you and we're goooooonna get maaaaaaarried,_" I continued to sing, swaying my hips and dancing as I moved around the kitchen, rocking my butt to the beat inside my head as I filled a kettle with water. "_Goooooing to the chapellllll of looooooove,_"

"Blaine, I realize that Kurt is your boyfriend and all, and you're probably very attracted to him, but that's my little brother over there, and I would appreciate it if you'd stop staring at his ass," I heard Finn say from the living room.

* * *

><p>"Two hour drive," Blaine said, staring at the GPS after he had put the address in for Columbus. We were in my navigator; I had opted to take my car instead of Jackie's, just in case something happened on the trip. "But hey, we're practically road trip experts by now."<p>

I turned onto the entrance ramp for route 117, speeding up to match the pace of the other cars in traffic and making my way into a lane. "I have an mp3 convertor in my glove compartment, you can play something from my iPod if you'd like."

Blaine did exactly that, taking the cord out of the glove box and plugging it into the radio. "Let's see what you got," he sighed, scrolling through the music on my iPod. About twenty seconds later he started laughing hysterically in the passenger seat, slouching back and gripping his sides as he practically died with laughter.

"What?"

"Why the _hell _do you have Sir Mix-A-Lot's 'Jump On It' on your iPod?" he said, still giggling to himself.

"It's my workout mix!"

* * *

><p>"Well that was an interesting show," Sam said as we all sat down at a fairly fancy restaurant. It was a rather busy night, and there seemed to be people sitting at every table. Sam wanted this to be special for Mercedes and him, because this might be the last time they would see each other till spring break.<p>

"No, that was a horrible, _horrible _show," I said, sitting down in the chair that Blaine kindly pulled out for me. We had just gotten out of very, _very _off-Broadway show (well, duh, it was in Ohio) that was absolutely horrendous to watch. It was a freaking musical about _firemen_. I mean at first I had some hope for it, but ten minutes in I swear I wanted to force jellyfish into my ears.

Mercedes giggled, looking over at Sam. "Well yes, it was extremely shitty, but I had a very good laugh and I'm sure it will be a very fun story to tell people."

"Was it a comedy?" Blaine asked, "I really wasn't sure. Sometimes they would say the _corniest _things so they just _had _to be jokes, but then when we laughed the actors

looked like they died a little on the inside."

"At least now we know not to go see 'Hotchkiss House: A Fireman's Tragedy' every again," Sam said, reaching his arm to rest around Mercedes' shoulders. Mercedes laughed in response and leaned into Sam's shoulder comfortably.

About a half an hour later we were all comfortably enjoying our meals, laughing and telling each other stories. Mercedes and I were able to catch up, which I'm really kind of disappointed about because most of the things that she asked me were centered on Blaine. I felt terrible for lying to her, but at the same time, the words just flew off my tongue. Lie after lie came out of my mouth like they were destined to come out. I was obviously getting used to this life, constant deceit and lavishly made up stories. Nevertheless, I tried not to think about it and simply tried to focus on getting Sam and her closer while I could.

I took a sip of my water (which was filled with thinly shaved ice in a fancy wine glass, might I add) and turned to ask Blaine a question as Sam and Mercedes whispered something to each other. His face was stone cold, and his eyes were trained to the other side of the restaurant. I tried to figure out what exactly he was looking at, but I couldn't figure it out. Everything seemed normal, and all that was in his line of sight were a few tables at the other side of the large room.

"Are you okay?"

Blaine's eyes snapped back to our table, my words startling him a little bit. He cleared his throat quietly and pulled the cloth napkin off of his lap. "Um…yeah. I'm just going to use the restroom really quick, excuse me."

Blaine got up from the table, quickly turning around and heading towards the men's room which was located at the opposite side from which he was just staring at. I sat there, confused and dumbfounded. Sam and Mercedes, of course, were in their own little world, and they didn't even notice that anything was wrong in the slightest. A million thoughts penetrated my mind before Blaine showed up again four minutes later, sitting down apprehensively.

"Are you okay?" I asked, for the second time.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Just had to pee," he responded, his face still stone cold, and his brow furrowed as he stared down at his plate. Normally, something that immature coming from him would be accompanied with a smirk to let you know he was trying to be humorous. Something was definitely up, but I didn't want to make a scene, so I let it go.

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that?" I asked when we got back into the car after we said goodbye to Sam and Mercedes. Blaine ignored me, leaning his head back on the headrest and closing his eyes. "Blaine."<p>

"What?"

"Please…just…tell me what happened,"I said, starting the car and beginning the long drive back to Lima.

Blaine leaned forward, putting his head in his hands and his elbows perched on his knees. He mumbled something, but I couldn't quite hear what he said.

"What?"

"My parents," he repeated, "my parents were in the restaurant."

"Oh." Suddenly I had the urge to fidget with my hands while driving. Suddenly everything made sense. "Blaine…will you…will you tell me?"

"Tell you what, Kurt?" he replied, still monotone.

"About you. Not… not Blaine, the model boyfriend who goes to Columbia and works at Virgin Records in Times Square, I want to know about the other Blaine…the real Blaine."

"No, you don't."

"What?"

"You don't."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because it's a sad, miserable story that I've never told anyone before," hesaid as he lifted his head out of his hands, his voice rising rising slightly.

"Blaine … please?" I was almost down to a whisper. "You know _everything _about me. Literally, everything. I've opened up my whole life to you this past week. I feel so lost, Blaine. I need some sense of reality because right now—" I was gradually becoming louder. "Right now you seem like this…this imaginary…fantasy dream … _person._ This foreign tangible idea that's been just absolutely _torturing _my brain and I have no idea what to make of anything. I just need something Blaine…_anything_."

Blaine leaned back in his seat, took a deep breath, and then began to talk.

"Like I told you the other night, my dad is extremely successful. He owns a lot of things and has control over a lot of people." He took a deep breath, folding his arms in front of him. "I've never been the favorite in my family, especially with my dad, and I've felt that all of my life. I'm the middle child, and I was pretty much the one always overlooked in my family."

"When my dad was in high school, he was a very big football star, and he recalls the days as 'the best of his life'. He's the guy who won those big trophies that you see in a showcase at every high school. He had this dream that all of his children would also go there, and they would be just as popular as he was, and carry on the family name."

"My brother, Cooper, had no problem living up to that expectation in high school. He was loved by literally everyone, even the teachers, and he didn't even do his homework. My father was incredibly proud of him, because he was the football star and the guy that all the girls drooled over."

Blaine took another deep breath, tightening the hold that he had on his arms. "Things were different when I got to high school. I wasn't into sports, I was in the school marching band, and…well…I was obviously _different _than everyone else at my school. Deep down inside I probably knew why I was so different, but I was too terrified to admit it to myself, let alone anyone around me."

"Anyways, I tried to make my dad happy, so freshmen year I joined football. I was terrible at the damn sport, but somehow I made it on the team. I think it had a large amount to do with the fact that my dad and my brother were considered legends there. So I started playing, and that's when the trouble began."

I glanced at Blaine after I heard the word 'trouble';he was staring intently at his feet, not daring to look back at me.

"I was bullied very badly by the guys on the football team. They didn't understand why I was trying to play football if I was so bad at the sport. They thought it was so I could…sneak a peek at their junk in the locker room or something. So they started to harass me, shoving me away or making cruel comments every time I even made eye contact with one of them. Things got really bad about halfway through the year, and I ended up in the hospital."

I gasped quietly from my spot behind the wheel, sending a worried look to Blaine who was still gazing at his feet.

"I basically begged my dad to let me go to Dalton, to let me escape from the place where I was tortured so badly. He didn't understand completely, but I think he knew why, at least a little bit – I mean – he _had _to. I transferred to Dalton, where I ended taking my freshmen year over again because of the superior academics there. But from then on, it was like all my father's love had completely vanished. He wasn't cruel, but he wasn't kind. You could tell that he tried his hardest to avoid me whenever possible. All he saw was a failed son, one that couldn't live up to his expectations, and is making him pay tens of thousands of dollars to go to some fancy all boys school. Things kind of stayed like that the whole time I was in high school, and we didn't talk to each other. The only communication between us was when I was telling him when I was leaving the house, and when I would be back."

"I came out to him the day after I graduated. I had a boyfriend, and I didn't want to sneak around my parents anymore. I decided, to hell with it, and I just blurted out at the dinner table that I was gay. That turned my father's switch. He was no longer just neutral towards me. He was cold, completely distant. He didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. He wouldn't even look at me. I'm pretty sure he just tried to pretend that I didn't exist."

"I'd had enough of it, and I was so tired of feeling so…unloved. One night I got into my car and drove all the way to New York, not even stopping. I lived out of my car for a week until I ran out of money. I didn't dare go back home to ask for more though, so I simply sold my car, and began to rent an apartment. I still had nothing though, all I had were clothes, a guitar and a toothbrush. I didn't have any money to really spend on furniture…I didn't have anything. I tried to look for a job, for something, but I couldn't find _anything_. The recession was terrible, and competition for jobs was the worst it had been in a long time. I managed to live a year off of what I got for my car, but then the money for rent ran out…and there was nothing that I could do."

Blaine stopped there. Silence penetrated through the car as I continued to drive.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," I said quietly after a minute or two. "You didn't deserve any of that."

He lifted his head to stare out the window. "Well, now you know."

"Thank you for telling me," I said, letting my right hand drop from the wheel and covered my hand over his. "It really means a lot."

"Yeah," he replied, almost at a whisper. "It meant a lot to me too."

* * *

><p><strong>Shit's getting real, guys. So a LOT has happened since I've last updated. One, I've gotten my first fan art! It's absolutely beautiful and it's by dorathebrit. You can find it on my scarvesandcoffee account or on my tumblr. SPEAKING OF SCARVES AND COFFEE. OMG. MY FIC GOT FREAKING FEATURED. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM. <strong>

**But anyways, thanks to SarkyBlueEyes for being my awesome beta. I love her tons. **

**Come talk to me on tumblr (: I love meeting new people. **

**AND REVIEW. **


	11. Chapter 11 Questions and Gerard Butler

**I'm a terrible person who takes forever to update. **

* * *

><p>"So what are our plans for New Years?" Blaine asked as we exited the car after arriving back at my house. The lights inside were off, but the porch light was kept on, welcoming us home.<p>

"Well, Rachel's having her annual New Year's Eve karaoke party, so we're invited to that."

"Mhm."

"And then I have to be back in New York by Monday morning for Wicked," I said, fiddling with my keys by the door.

"And today is Wednesday," Blaine stared up into the night air, watching the night sky above us.

"Today is Wednesday."

I moved to unlock the front door of the house, but then heard Blaine's footsteps behind me walking away from the door. He sat down on the top step of the porch, sliding his hands into his pockets and staring out into the sky. My mouth opened curiously as I stood there and watched him for a moment, before walking over and sitting down next to him.

Tilting my head up, I looked at the view above us, trying to see what Blaine saw. The sky was a rich, infinite black, speckled all over with stars and various constellations.

"New York needs stars," Blaine said in a reminiscent voice. "You know, the real ones." I hummed in agreement, getting lost in the endless expanse that was night. New York City definitely does lack that aspect of nature.

"How do you feel about cats?"

I moved my gaze back to Blaine's face and gave him a confused expression. "Well…they're nice…I guess?"

"Do you prefer them over dogs?"

"It…it depends on the cat. I mean, there are nice cats, and there are mean cats. Same goes with dogs."

Blaine nodded, staring off into the distance again. There was a short silence filled with nothing but the hardly-there sound of the winter wind.

"Are you an animorph?"

Blaine laughed, letting his head hang down for a second as he smiled sweetly to himself. "No, I sadly do not possess the power to turn into a dog."

"_Cat_."

"What?"

"You asked me about cats, so you're obviously hiding some kind of cat secret."

"You see me as a _cat_?"

"Well you're the one who brought them up first!"

"Kurt, in what kind of sick animated world do you see me as a _cat_?"

"Alice in Wonderland."

"The…" Blaine let out a confused laugh, turning his head towards me. "The _Cheshire Cat_? You're comparing me to the Cheshire Cat?"

"I really don't even know anymore."

"That is probably the biggest insult I've ever received in my life."

I laughed quietly to myself, the corners of my eyes crinkling as I turned my head away from Blaine.

"Okay, Okay," Blaine said, smiling and lifting a finger. "What's your biggest fear?"

"The Cheshire Cat," I deadpanned.

"Seriously…"

"Umm…I…sheesh, I don't know Blaine. Does it matter?"

"Yes."s

"I guess it would be something bad happening to my family…that and terrorist attacks." Blaine nodded. "Why the interrogation?"

"Oh, no reason," he replied, leaning back on the palms of his hands and looking back into the night sky. "Stuffed animals or blankets?"

"Blankets, and enough with the questioning, eHarmony."

"Alright, just one more," Blaine smiled, sitting up. "What did the big chimney say to the little chimney?" I furrowed my brow, looking at him questionably. "_You're too young to smoke!_" Blaine beamed, eyes wide with humorous enthusiasm.

"You are absolutely ridiculous."

"Yes, but you like my ridiculousness."

"Who said that?"

"Your eyes said that," he responded as-a-matter-of-factly, a smirk present on his lips.

"Did they?" I replied, tilting my head. "I think I specifically told them not to."

"Well," Blaine turned towards me. "Eyes seem to have a mind of their own."

I watched as Blaine's gaze flickered down to my lips, my breath stilling as I continued to stare at him. He moved a couple of inches closer, his stare was intense and breathing only got harder at that point.

"What are my eyes saying?" he whispered.

I leaned forward, exhaling through my nose as I captured his lips in mine. Blaine's hand reached up to the back of my neck, fingering through the tips of my hairline. He sucked lightly on my bottom lip, moving his lips over mine in a passionate way. My hand lifted up off my leg, stopping hesitantly in mid-air for a moment before finally settling on his chest. I unconsciously played with the collar of his jacket, rubbing the material softly in between my fingers.

"Correct," he said with a smile once we pulled away for air, his eyes remained closed as he leaned his forehead against mine. Blaine's hand moved from the back of my neck to my cheek, rubbing his thumb softly over the skin before he dropped his hand completely. "Are you cold?"

"I'm fucking freezing."

He laughed, moving up to his feet and tugging me along with him. "C'mon, it's late."

I was about to argue the fact that he was the reason we were out on the freaking porch in the first place, but I didn't. Instead, I simply walked with him up to the front door, unlocking it with this residual smile resting on my face. I could actually _feel _the smile. It was a weird concept. I thought about the idea of it when we walked through the front door. We stayed silent, as to not wake up the parents who were probably sleeping upstairs.

* * *

><p>A warm front had rolled into the Midwest on Thursday, and it was raining outside. The rain mixed with the snow and dirt on the ground to make disgusting, slushy, and completely gross weather. I refused to leave the house, and even went as far as starting a fire in the fireplace. When the fire was started, and the cover was put in front of the fireplace, I curled up on the floor with a huge plush blanket and my laptop, looking through the new Marc Jacobs collection online.<p>

"Hey Kurt?" Blaine called from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"How would you feel about me making you my special Candy-cane Cocoa?"

"Do I get to watch?"

"Yes."

"Do I get to drink it by the fire after you're done?"

"Yes."

"And do I get marshmallows?"

"If you behave," he replied. I smiled, getting up off the ground and leaving the blanket on my shoulders. "Can you grab me a few candy-canes from off the tree?" Blaine called again. I picked up my laptop, putting it under my arm before going over to the tree and plucking four candy canes off near the bottom. When I walked into the kitchen, I settled onto a stool beside the island and put the candy-canes down on the counter.

"Thank you," Blaine said, looking over his shoulder from where he was looking through the refrigerator. "Is it okay if I use this?" He held up a gallon of milk.

"Yeah, sure. We can replace it tomorrow."

"Awesome." Blaine pulled a pot out from a cabinet and put it on the stove, and then poured some milk inside it. I opened up my laptop again, looking back onto the Marc Jacobs website.

The sound of rain against the roof became even louder as it began to downpour. Blaine and I both looked up in wonder, listening to the heavy drops fall outside.

"Wow, it's really coming down out there," I said, turning back to my laptop.

"Are you scared of thunderstorms?"

I looked at him curiously, "There's no thunderstorm."

"I know."

"So why would I be afraid?"

"No, I mean, in general, are you afraid of thunder and lightning?" he repeated himself, unwrapping the candy canes and putting them into a food processor.

"Um…" I stared at him from over my laptop strangely, incredibly confused. "Yes, I kind of turn into a pansy during thunder and lightning. Why?"

"Just wondering," he said, pressing the pulse button on the food processor and watching as the candy was chopped into bits.

"Is this another one of your questionnaires?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Do you separate the red M&M's from the rest of the M&M's?"

"_What_?"

"It's a valid question, Kurt."

"No it definitely is not. All M&M's taste the same, no matter what color they are."

Blaine smirked, pouring the bits of crushed candy-cane into a small bowl and reaching for the chocolate. "Well, it's good to know that you're not a racist."

I scoffed, lifting a hand to my face and rubbing my eye a little. "You are so _strange_."

"But a good strange, right?" he said with a cheeky grin.

"A good strange, yes," I replied, smiling back.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Blaine was ladling the finished hot chocolate into two mugs. He sprayed a dollop of whipped cream on top of each one and a few more candy cane bits on top of that. "Because you've been good," he said, putting a few mini marshmallows on top of my mountain of whipped cream. I made child-like grabby hands at the mug he was holding, eager for the hot drink. "Nah-ah," he said, walking around me and out of the kitchen. "Bring the blanket, lose the laptop."<p>

I obliged his request, standing up from my stool and following him into the living room with the blanket in my hand. He put the mugs on the floor, lying down on his stomach next to the fire. I joined him, putting the plush blanket over the two of us and getting comfortable on the carpet.

"Oh my _god_," I practically moaned, after tasting a bit of the Candy-cane Cocoa. "This is absolutely delicious."

"I know." Blaine put on a smug grin as he sipped his drink.

"Where did you learn to make this?"

"Dalton," he replied. "My friend's dad was the head chef in the cafeteria and he would make this on snow days for the kids who lived in the dorms."

"Oh, you boarded there?"

Blaine nodded, taking another sip of his drink and staring into the flames in front of us. My iTunes was still playing softly from the laptop in the kitchen, 'Learn to Be Lonely' from The Phantom of the Opera. He hummed the song to himself as we lied lazily on the ground. I took a moment to listen to the lyrics playing from the other room.

_Who will be there for you?  
>Comfort and care for you?<br>Learn to be lonely  
>Learn to be your one companion<em>

"The Phantom or Raul?" Blaine asked suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"If you were Christine, who would you have chosen?"

"I umm…" I put my mug down in front of me, folding my arms and tucking them close to my chest. "I—I don't know." Blaine's head twisted in a shrug, almost as if to give a disparaging 'well then'. Was this one of his question-test-quiz-things? I decided to concentrate harder, giving the question a second-thought.

"I—my heart aches for the Phantom, and the miserable life that he knew. I sort of wish that Christine had chosen him, because I wanted him to be happy. He was a genius and a mastermind of music, and all he had ever known was solitude. I guess I wished that he would be someone's…something. But at the same time, there's this cruelty to the way his mind works, and he did some pretty terrible things. And—and…I just…I don't know. Raul was this handsome 'Prince Charming' from Christine's childhood, but you don't really get to know his character. He seems like a stranger in the story."

"Okay…that was a very extensive way of evading the main point of the question." Blaine replied, looking at me. "Who would _you _choose?"

"…the Phantom."

Blaine chuckled, "Really?"

"What?"

"The Phantom? But he's so…so…_eerie_."

I let out an amused huff of air, "You of all people would pick _Raul_?"

"I bet you just pick the Phantom because of Gerard Butler."

"Okay, while Gerard Butler is everything that is sexy in this world, he has nothing to do with my decision!"

"Oh, yeah" Blaine replied sarcastically. "Sure!"

"That's it!" I said, getting up from the ground. "We're watching it, and I'm proving you wrong."

"Proving me wrong on what?"

"That Christine should have picked the Phantom." I walked over to our DVD collection, picking The Phantom of the Opera out and turning on the TV.

"I never said that I thought Christine should have picked Raul," Blaine smiled.

"You—you said that the Phantom is eerie!"

"Well, yeah, because he is!"

"Then why would you pick him?"

"Because…_Gerard Butler_."

I laughed, letting my head fall down in exasperation. "You're so ridiculous." My expression was condescending but my smile betrayed me. "We're still watching it though."

Blaine got up from the ground, grabbing our drinks, "Good!" He moved to the couch, where he snuggled himself in the plush blanket. He wiggled his butt into the couch, getting comfortable, and I found myself adoring the incredibly endearing sight in front of me.

"Because it's my favorite movie musical, and I can't pass up this opportunity."

"I understand completely."

"And if you talk while the Phantom is singing," I said, lifting up the blanket and joining Blaine on the couch, TV controls in my hand, "I will end you."

"What about for kisses?" Blaine said, giving me puppy dog eyes. I felt myself blush, but I willed my face to stay nonchalant.

"Not even for kisses."

Guess what?

I let him interrupt the Phantom's singing for kisses.

It was during "Music of the Night", when the Phantom and Christine are in the lair. Blaine sang along with the Phantom, lowly, under his breath.

"_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication  
>Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation<em>."

I was about to shush him, and inform him of the importance of not interrupting the musical stylings of Andrew Lloyd Webber, especially when sung by Gerard Butler. But then his hand touched my cheek, and I turned my head to find his face inches away from mine. Then, I forgot about my rules, and we kissed…

…for a while.

We kissed throughout the rest of the song, lazily and slowly. Our hands stayed by each other's faces and necks, sometimes carding lightly through hair or rubbing thumbs softly against skin. It lasted through the 'Magical Lasso' scene, and through Christine's 'I Remember' solo when she woke up the next day. We finally broke apart when Christine tried to take off the Phantom's mask, startled by the suddenness of the Phantom screaming at Christine.

Blaine and I turned our attention back to the screen, watching the man in the mask throw a fit.

"He has some _serious _self confidence issues," Blaine muttered.

* * *

><p>"Wow," I said, looking out the window. "I'm really sick of this weather."<p>

It was Friday afternoon, and it was still pouring outside. We hadn't done much today; I browsed the internet for extra scholarships, and Blaine just fiddled around on his guitar. Everyone else was at work, and I think it was safe to say that Blaine and I were thoroughly bored.

"That's it," I said, dropping my hands at my sides as I walked into the living room, where Blaine was sitting with his instrument. "I'm taking you out." Grabbing my coat and keys, I gestured him to follow me to the door.

"Where're we going?" Blaine put his guitar back in its case, hurrying to join me in the hallway.

"If I told you I would have to kill you."

He narrowed his eyes, reaching for his jacket which was hanging on the coat rack. "But I'm going to find out anyway."

"Yes, later." I opened the front door, leaving it open for him and walking out onto the porch.

"That sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think?"

"Not of taking you out, no."

"So does 'taking me out' refer to actually like…killing me? Or is this a date?"

I looked at him slyly from over the car as I reached for the handle of the driver's door. "What do you think?"

"Well shucks Kurt, it sure is awfully nice of you to take me on a date," Blaine said with a teasing smile.

"All the easier it will be to kill you." I got in the car, Blaine following very shortly afterward.

"You would never kill me."

I watched him buckle himself into the seat and smiled, "…says the man who will possibly get killed."

In all honesty, I had no idea where the hell I was going to take us. Running on pure instinct, I decided to go with the flow, turning out of the driveway to drive east down my street. I attempted to keep my poker face on, running through all the local places in my mind. There was simply nothing to do; the weather was terrible, everyone was working, and it was the middle of the day.

Suddenly I got an idea, and I drove to a nearby café, a reminiscent smile planting on my face when we arrived.

"Oh, so you're not trying to kill me!" Blaine laughed teasingly.

I looked at him quickly before opening my door. My original plan was to roll my eyes, but when my eyes met his I couldn't bring myself to. All I could seem to do was smile shyly and try to ignore the heat rising in my cheeks.

It was still pouring outside, and I grimaced at the fact that I didn't have a hood or an umbrella. Blaine appeared quickly by my side, his jacket in his hands. He held it up over our heads as we ran to the restaurant, trying to avoid dirty puddles on the way.

"Hello! Welcome to the Willow Café! Table for two?" said an overly cheery greeter as we walked through the door.

"Um…yes, please," I answered, patting my head lightly to see if my hair was wet. The place had redecorated since the last time I'd been there, and I took a moment to gaze around in appreciation. The walls were a bold white, with light green abstract leaves painted in various places. There were also murals of willow trees painted on either side of the café. It was all very cute.

"Follow me please!"

The young waitress brought us to a small booth near the back of the restaurant, and placed our menus on the table, saying that she would be back in a few minutes. Twenty minutes later, I was happily digging into my Greek salad, and Blaine was munching on a turkey-pesto Panini.

"So," Blaine said, taking a break from his food. "Kurt Hummel."

"That's the name."

"Would you rather lose your sight or your hearing?"

I stilled my chewing, looking at Blaine suspiciously, with raised eyebrows. "You're planning to paralyze me, aren't you?"

"Nope, just a question." He smiled.

I nodded, recalling all the odd questions he had asked me lately. "Sight."

Blaine raised his eyebrows, nodding his head in approval. "Okay, now, do you believe in karma?"

Well these questions sure have taken a serious turn. I took a moment to answer, looking at Blaine as I chewed another bite of my salad. Why is he even asking all of these in the first place?

"I've never thought about it."

"How about fate?"

"Well, yeah, destiny makes sense."

"How so?"

I put my fork down, "I'd like to think that I have somewhere that I'm meant to be, with someone that I'm meant to be with. Otherwise, life seems pretty despicable, doesn't it?"

Blaine looked down, fidgeting with the napkin that was resting on his lap. "Do you think you've found that yet?"

"My destiny?" His eyes looked up, meeting mine.

"Yeah."

I tilted my head to the side, looking over Blaine's head in thought. "In some ways, yes."

Blaine's eyes bore into mine, as if they were searching for something in my irises. His stare was more than intense, and I suddenly felt he was unraveling all things that I stored safely in my mind.

"What about love at first sight?"

"What about it?" I asked timidly, my eyes nervously looking back into his.

"Do you think that it's complete bullshit?"

"I um…" I cleared my throat, "I mean, I'm sure it can happen…to people. But I don't think that love always happens instantly, no."

Blaine's eyes finally peeled away from mine, looking back at the napkin in his lap again.

"That's understandable."

"Yeah," I murmured, "understandable."

* * *

><p>"You're late!" Rachel said, pulling on my arm and leading Blaine and I down to her basement.<p>

"You never gave me a time!"

"Yeah, but everybody else is already here!" She gestured around the room once we walked in. "That makes you late."

The Berry home basement was filled with former Glee club members. Half of them were at the bar counter, sipping on drinks and watching as Puck did some weird twirly thing with a bottle of Triple-Sec, and the other half were in the middle of the floor, dancing. Mike was on stage, singing "Man...I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain into the microphone while Tina was dancing in the small crowd, belting the lyrics out as well.

I'm just going to assume that they were both drunk.

"They came like that," Finn said, putting his hand on my shoulder as he walked past me. "I think they've been to a couple of other New Year's Eve parties tonight."

I nodded and put a finger to my lips, smiling as I watched the two Asians dance ridiculously from across the room.

"Kurt!" Puck called from the bar. "Kurt, come here!"

I turned around for a moment, thinking that Blaine was still by my side. However, he was over on a couch talking with Sam and Finn. Shrugging, I walked over to the bar where Brittany, Santana, and Mercedes were, and sat down on a stool.

"Okay, Kurt, I'm assuming that you go to crazy New York bars all the time, right?"

"Well not really—"

"Yes, you do. Can you tell me if I'm doing this right?" Puck interrupted, throwing a glass bottle in the air and tossing it in between his two hands.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"This thing where you…it's kind of like a juggle type…but just flip it and…" Puck tried to talk and focus on the trick at the same time, which wasn't working very well, if you ask me. The glass bottle slipped in his hands and dropped to the floor with a crash, spilling liquid all around Puck's feet.

"PUCK!" Rachel bellowed from the couch with Finn and Blaine. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TOSSING THE ALCOHOL IN THE AIR?"

"That you understand the dangers but would still let me practice in order to be the best goddamn bartender in the world?"

"NO, PUCK. THAT IS NOT WHAT I SAID! AND YOU ARE REPLACING THAT TOMORROW!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh! Take the stick out of your ass, will you?"

"THERE IS NOTHING IN MY ASS!" We all giggled at that, and I hid my smile with the side of my hand. "Yes guys, laugh it up, it's very funny." Rachel said sarcastically, taking a swig of wine. "You can keep laughing while Puck cleans broken glass off the floor." She gave Puck a nasty smile, and went back to dancing.

"Rule number one," I leaned my elbows on the bar counter, holding out a finger to Puck. "You do _not_ get drunk-Rachel upset."

"You're a bit too late on that one, but thank you, Kurt," Puck replied.

"Just a head's up for next time." I turned in my chair, looking around the room. "Is anyone else drunk?"

"Nope, just Berry and the Asian twins," Santana said from beside me.

"How are Tina and Mike allowed to get married? Wouldn't that make them like…insects or something?" Brittany asked.

"Are you talking about incest?" Mercedes asked the blond girl. "Have you seriously thought that they were brother in sister this whole time?"

"Mercedes, I'm not dumb…" Brittany defended, turning on her stool, "Mike _Chang, _Tina Cohen-_Chang_, they have the same squinty eyes. They're obviously related." Santana looked back at the stage with a quizzical look on her face, tilting her head a bit to the side in thought. I leaned forward, making eye contact and gently shaking my head toward Brittney, mouthing a small 'no honey, no'.

Puck put a red party cup in front of me, and I stared at him, almost scared to touch it.

"Noah?"

"Yup?"

"What is this?"

"A drink."

"What kind of drink?"

"A good one," Mercedes said, smiling as she took another sip of the cup in her hands.

Puck nodded towards her, looking at me. "She is correct."

"What's in it, Puck?"

He let out a sigh and leaned against the counter. "Vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice."

My brow furrowed, and I tilted the plastic cup to take a look inside. "It's pink," I said, a smile forming on my face.

"So what?" Puck said, crossing his arms.

"WHO'S NEXT?" Mike bellowed, walking off the stage. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a couple of the guys walk over to the karaoke machine and I turned my attention back to Puck.

"This is a Cosmopolitan, isn't it?" I was practically beaming by now. The ever-so-manly and dominant Noah Puckerman, had made Cosmos for everyone to drink. This is _gold_.

"It's my best drink, okay?"

The opening chords of some 90's sounding song played from the stage.

"Noah, if at any time, and I mean _anytime_, you need to come out of the closet, I will gladly walk you out."

"_You know, sometimes, I don't know why,  
>But this old town just seems so hopeless,<em>" Blaine's voice flooded through the room, with a Bob Dylan-like tone.

Puck narrowed his eyes at me, "Do you know how many bridesmaids I make this for? At _least _twenty a week," he defended. "I make it at least twenty times a week! And god knows it's all I could make with the ingredients that the Berry household has to offer."

"_I ain't really sure, but it seems I remember the good times  
>were just a little bit more in…focus.<em>"

"Whatever you say, Noah," I continued to smile, lifting my cup up to lips.

"_But when she puts her arms around me,  
>I can somehow, rise above it."<em>

"Oh, just shut up and watch your boyfriend," Puck said, turning around and looking upset.

I giggled and turned around in my stool to see Blaine holding a microphone in his hands, leaning his body weight onto the stand.

"_Yeah man, when I got that little girl standing right by my side,  
>You know, I can tell the whole wide world to shove it! HEY!<em>" Blaine outstretched his hands towards me ridiculously, eyes closed as he sang with wacky enthusiasm.  
><em>"Here comes my girl! Here comes my girl,<br>Yeah, and she looks so right, she's all I need tonight_."

Well this is certainly a silly side of Blaine that I've never seen before. "Has he had anything to drink?" I asked Puck. He shook his head, moving out from behind the bar to go talk to Quinn.

Blaine started the sing-talking part of the song again, being animated, as if he wrote the song himself. "_Every now and then I get down to the end of the day  
>I'll have to stop, ask myself, what've I done?<br>It just seems so useless to have to work so hard,  
>And nothing ever really seems to come from it."<em>

He sang again. "_But then she looks me in the eyes, says, we're gonna last forever,  
>And man, you know I can't begin to doubt it.<br>No, because this feels so good, so free, so right,  
>I know we ain't ever gonna change our minds about it, HEY!<em>"

I continued to watch his little performance, smiling from where I was perched on a stool across the room. We made eye contact and he smiled back, motioning for me to come towards the stage. I laughed, despite my eye rolling as I got up off the stool and slowly walked my way over to the stage, watching Blaine continue to sing about how 'his girl was coming' and pointing at me.

"_Yeah, every time it seems like there ain't nothing left no more,  
>I find myself having to reach out and grab hold of something.<br>Yeah, I just catch myself wonderin', waitin', worryin',  
>About some silly little things that don't add up to nothing.<br>And then she looks me in the eye, says, we gonna last forever,  
>And man, you know I can't begin to doubt it.<br>No, because this feels so good, and so free, and so right,  
>I know we ain't ever gonna change our minds about it, HEY!"<em>

I finally got up near the stage, where Mike, Tina, Finn, Sam, and Artie were waving their hands slowly in the air. The only thing they needed was lighters. Blaine sang to me, reaching his hands out and clenching his eyes closed outrageously and he finished the song. He reached out for my hand, and I let him drag me up on stage, where he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me sweetly.

"You know I'm a boy right?" I asked.

"Oh I am more than aware of the fact that you are a boy," he responded, smiling before pecking me on the lips again. I leaned forward immediately after he pulled away, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and replanting my lips onto his. Everyone 'whooped' around us and I felt the corners of his mouth twist into a grin.

* * *

><p>"Oh god, it's time to think of New Year's Resolutions, isn't it?" Rachel said, face-palming, two minutes before midnight. We were on the couches in the Berry living room, waiting for the ball to drop on the television. Everyone was cuddled up in their partner's arms, with Puck, Quinn, and Artie talking with each other. Our hands held on to small tumblers what were filled halfway with Champagne, watching the TV in anticipation for the countdown.<p>

"What's your resolution gonna be?" Finn asked Rachel.

"Be nice enough to the people of Chicago enough to make a few friends, I hope," I said.

Rachel leaned into my side. "Ha ha, Kurt, very funny."

The countdown on the TV feed of Time's Square began, starting at 60 seconds to midnight.

"What's your New Year's Resolution, Kurt?" Blaine asked from where he sat on the other side of me. I thought about it for a moment, staring at the tumbler in my hands.

"Probably to be more honest to people," I replied. God, there was so much meaning behind that sentence.

30 seconds.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Oh…um…" Blaine shrugged, "probably the same thing, actually."

20 seconds.

We were both silent for a moment, letting our gazes drift back to the TV.

"Kurt, listen, I—"

"TEN…NINE... EIGHT… SEVEN."

Everyone started to count down. Blaine just joined in with everyone else instead of finishing his sentence. I joined in a second or two later as well.

"FOUR… THREE... TWO… ONE. _HAPPY NEW YEAR_!"

We all cheered and hugged each other, making toasts with everyone and drinking Champaign while 'Auld Lang Syne' streamed into the room from Times Square. I turned to Blaine, who clinked his tumbler against mine with a small smile before taking the glass from me and putting both of our drinks down. After that, he came close, cupping my face in his hands and kissing me enthusiastically. I smiled and kissed back, happy because, well, it was nice to be able to kiss someone at midnight on New Year's Eve. And this was kind of perfect.

"I'm in love with you," Blaine whispered, his eyes still closed once we pulled apart.

_What?_

My head snapped up, staring at him in shock and confusion. Did he just say…?

"I love you, Kurt," he said more loudly this time, he seemed to smile while he said it, too. Was this…was this a part of the act? Was this for the effect of it all?

"Blaine, I—"

"Please say you love me too, Kurt," he said, his smile fading.

_Do I love him? _Wait, what? No, what is going on? This can't be real. Why is he doing this? We seemed to have gotten Rachel and Finn's attention, I could see them watching us out of the corner of my eye.

"I—I can't Blaine."

"Do you love me, Kurt?" he said more firmly this time, his eyes tearing into mine again.

"I can't Blaine, I'm sorry. I—I just can't."

* * *

><p><strong>And cue moment where you all hate me. I'm terrible (: <strong>

**So anyways, that song that Blaine sang at karaoke is "Here Comes My Girl" by Tom Petty. I only know the song because Relient K recently did this awesome cover of it, and I like it way better than the original, so if you're going to listen to it, listen to that one. **

**Thank you to liz-loz and SarkyBlueEyes as always, for being fantastically awesome and always helping me. **

**And don't forget to visit me on tumblr. There's more amazing fan-art!**

**also, **

**REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12 Happy New Year

**I like to think of this as Chapter 11 part 2. It's pretty darn short. **

* * *

><p>"I'm in love with you," Blaine whispered, his eyes still closed once we pulled apart.<p>

_What?_

My head snapped up, staring at him in shock and confusion. Did he just say…?

"I love you, Kurt." He said more loudly this time. He seemed to smile while he said it, too. Was this…was this a part of the act? Was this for the effect of it all?

"Blaine, I—"

"Please say you love me too, Kurt." He said, his smile fading.

_Do I love him? _Wait, what? No, what is going on? This can't be real. Why is he doing this? We seemed to have gotten Rachel and Finn's attention, I could see them watching us out of the corner of my eye.

"I—I can't Blaine."

"Do you love me, Kurt?" he said more firmly this time, his eyes tearing into mine again.

"I can't Blaine, I'm sorry. I—I just can't."

Blaine's face reddened in embarrassment as he looked down at his shoes, his hands dropping from where they were resting on my arms.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry Blaine. I—I just—"

"I get it," he said, a humorless smile finding its way through his features. "I'm going to um…I need a few minutes to myself, I think."

I nodded in understanding, my feet glued to the floor as I just stood there and watched him. My mind seemed paralyzed. So many emotions had flooded through my brain at the same time that I couldn't recognize any of them for what they truly were. In that moment, I felt incredibly empty, heartless, and completely distant from myself.

"I think I'm just going to head back to the house, if that's alright. Can you get a ride with Finn?" Blaine asked with a dispassionate voice. I hesitated for a moment before agreeing. I'd already done enough damage to his dignity for one night, so not letting him be alone would be incredibly unkind.

I reached into my pocket, grabbing my keys and handing them to Blaine. He nodded, looking me in the eyes one final time before he turned around and headed out of the living room.

It wasn't until the TV was turned off that I realized that everyone was silent, and staring at me.

"_Kurt_…" Rachel said sensitively from beside me.

I stepped back, feeling the couch against the back of my leg and letting myself drop on the seat as I ignored her. My eyes were attached on the doorway where Blaine had been a few moments before.

"Kurt, I don't understand," Rachel tried to talk to me, sitting down slowly. An ironic breath of air left my lungs as I bowed my head down, carding my hands through my hair.

I wouldn't expect anyone to understand.

Silence penetrated the environment as the first of my many emotions finally found its way through the hazy fog in my brain.

Guilt.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I tensed, demanding myself not to cry. Why is this happening? When did everything suddenly become so goddamn complex? Why didn't I just lie to Blaine, and say that I loved him? I mean, it's not like every other part of my life isn't a lie right now.

No, don't think about this now. Not now. Not here. _You can't fall apart here_.

"There's nothing to understand," I finally responded. "I just…don't feel the same way."

"But you two are perfect for each other," Sam said, walking closer. "You said so yourself."

I let out a shuddering breath, raising the palm of my hands to my eyes and pressing them hard against my face. Just a few more lies, Kurt. Just a few more lies and you can get away from it all.

"But that doesn't mean that I…love him." The words left such a sour taste on my tongue. "I barely even know him." I cringed as soon as that left my mouth because, _god_, that was _not _supposed to come out. "He doesn't open up to me. How could I love someone who's so distant?"

"That's complete bullshit," Finn said, stepping forward. "I've seen you, you adore him, and you both _adore _each other. It's in the way you look at Blaine, Kurt. I've seen it."

"You thought he was abusive," I half-whispered, lifting my head out of my hands to look at my step-brother.

"Yes, Kurt, I've thought a lot of stupid things before. I prayed to a sandwich for a fucking week in high school. _I'm not the brightest kid on the planet_."

"Why are you running, Kurt?" Sam spoke up.

No, no, no, no, _no, please stop talking_.

"Why are you running away from something that's obviously so great? Why are you afraid to tell him that you love him?"

"Why do you _care_?" I snapped back, from deep in my throat. "You guys never gave a shit about my love life before, why are you all the sudden so invested in this relationship?"

"We'd never seen you _in love _before, Kurt," Rachel said from beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm not _in love_, okay!" I shrugged Rachel's hand off of my shoulder. "Just, _god_, get that idea out of your heads!"

Mercedes moved closer to me, "Kurt, denial isn't going to solve anything."

"I'm not in denial! What the fu—" I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I attempted to calm myself down. "I'm going to use to restroom, or whatever…"

The next thing I knew, I was walking myself out of the room, and jogging quickly upstairs. A few involuntary tears leaked out of my eyes as I reached the top of the steps, and I walked quickly to the closest bathroom, immediately shutting the door behind me. I slumped into the tile wall across from the sink, closing my eyes tightly as I let my hands pull at my hair.

_God, I hate this_.

Why won't they just mind their own damn business? This has nothing to do with them! I swear, those people have never understood the meaning of _privacy_.

A moment later my breathing was slowing a little, I dropped my hands and my eyes began to open again. I looked up at my reflection in the mirror across from me. All I could see was this sad excuse for a person staring back at me with tear marks on his face.

_Liar_, I thought to myself, _all you are is a liar._

I slid down the wall. I didn't want to look at myself any longer. My head leaned back to rest against the cold tile wall, and I stared at the ceiling.

What am I going to say to Blaine when I get back? God, that's going to be so awkward, especially if he really was telling the truth. I mean, obviously he was. There's no reason he would say that if it was a lie.

Why does he even love me in the first place? I'm a total bitch. Why would someone like him want to be with someone like me? He's kind, and compassionate, and he pretty much never thinks of himself. What did I ever do to make him fall in love with me? Blaine…_cares_ about life and people with this depth that I've never been able to reach as a person. He has to be the sexiest, most dapper and charming person that I've ever met. Not to mention the fact that his sense of humor is pretty much spot on, and he's made me laugh more in the past week and a half, than I have in my entire life. He's made my life exciting, and fun, and spontaneous and _god_, what is my life going to be like without him?

My eyes widened and my mouth hung open in shock as the realization hit me.

_Maybe I really am in love with him_.

Oh…my god. I'm…I think I'm in love with the man.

So this…this is what it feels like? I think Rachel was right. I don't think I'd ever been in love before. That would explain why I didn't recognize the feeling. My stomach swooped at the thought and—

That! That could be it! The feeling in my stomach whenever I think about him - the way I haven't been able to be my sarcastic bitchy self around him lately – the way I can only seem to smile and blush when my brain keeps telling me to roll my eyes – that permanent happy feeling that settles inside when I'm close to him – the way I just can't seem to stop kissing him. That's…love, isn't it?

How do I fix this?

I got up from off the ground, wiping my eyes furiously and then trying to make my hair what it was before. Taking a few deep breaths, I gripped the doorknob and walked out of the bathroom. I was ready to mend the damage that I made five minutes ago.

When I walked back into the living room, most of the Glee club had gone back downstairs already. The only people left in the room were Finn and Rachel, Mike and Tina were making out on the couch, still in their drunken haze.

"Finn?" I murmured, leaning against the doorway. Finn looked up from where he was talking with Rachel. "Do you think you can bring me home now? I…I really need to talk to Blaine."

Finn smiled and walked over to me, putting his arm around my shoulder. "Of course I will, little brother."

"I'm older than you, Finn," I said with a sigh.

"Yes, but I'm taller," he included quickly, "I'll be back in a little bit, Rachel."

"Take Mike and Tina with you! These couches are super expensive and they look like they're two seconds away from reproducing. Plus, they shouldn't drive home anyway," Rachel said, rushing over to stop me and Finn from leaving.

"Goddamn buzzkill," Mike groaned, his head falling back onto the arm of the couch.

We all left, Finn leading the way to the car, with me walking behind, my hands in my pockets. Tina and Mike stumbled in back of us, trying their best to be able to cling to each other and make it successfully to the car at the same time.

* * *

><p>"So, what are you going to talk to Blaine about?" Finn asked, his grin still on his face right after we dropped Mike and Tina off at Tina's apartment.<p>

I looked at him for a second, deciding not to answer the question, and then went back to staring out the window of the passenger seat.

"Wait, you're not breaking up with him, are you?"

"No, I'm not going to break up with him."

"So you changed your mind?" Finn asked with a hopeful expression.

"About what?"

"About breaking up with him."

"I was never going to break up with him Finn, I was just…shocked, that's all." I folded my arms across my chest, shifting myself around in the seat.

"And you've realized that you love him?"

I looked down at my hands. "I think so."

Mike and Tina lived pretty close to our house, and we were already pulling into our street. "Well, I'm happy for you dude. Blaine's a great guy. I know I doubted him before, but now I couldn't be surer."

I let out a thankful chuckle, looking back down at my hands again.

"You know, Kurt, it's weird. I've only seen you two together for like, a week, but now I honestly can't picture you with anyone else."

My eyes widened, and I looked at Finn in astonishment.

"I know that's kind of, ya know, weird…especially coming from me. But you two really are great for each other. And I can tell that Blaine really does love you." With that Finn pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.

"Thanks, Finn," I half whispered, still not believing that he actually just said that. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime, little bro," he replied as I got out of the car. I smiled, rolling my eyes and not bothering to correct him as I closed the door.

Finn pulled out of the driveway, and disappeared down the street as I walked up the driveway. The garage was closed, and the light on the porch was off, so I assumed that my parents weren't home yet. I passed my Navigator before my footsteps came to a halt, and I widened my eyes, turning around.

"_Where's Jackie's car?_" I said to myself in the silence of the night.

My mind reeled as I walked over to the door, unlocking it to find the only light coming from the kitchen. The pace of my walking became faster and more urgent as I made my way to my room, and by the time I got there I basically burst through the door.

Blaine wasn't there.

His clothes, his guitar, and all of his things were gone.

_This isn't happening_. No, this can't be real. I'm dreaming or something. I've been dreaming about this whole day, no, the whole past two weeks have just been one long, crazy, fucked up dream. _Why _is this happening?

I collapsed onto my bed, closing my eyes tight and running my hands roughly through my hair again, for the third time tonight. A tiny flame of anger flickered in my stomach, and the next thing I knew it was taking me over completely.

Who the _hell _does he think he is? How dare he steal Jackie's car! Who the fuck runs away in the dead of night just because someone tells them that they're not in love with them? I can't believe he would be so…so…_careless_. What the hell am I supposed to tell Jackie?

Oh _god, Jackie_.

She's going to murder me. Like, not even figuratively. She's legitimately _going to kill me_. Why the _hell_ did she even let me take her car in the first place? I knew something terrible like this was going to happen, I just knew it. Oh god, I'm the worst friend in the world. She's going to think I'm absolutely psychotic for trusting a _hobo_ with my keys.

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, realizing that this was the first time I had thought about Blaine in that way for a while.

_Because you're in love, _said a voice from the back of my head.

No, just stop. _No_. You're not in love with him Kurt. How could you be in love with him? You've only known him for less than two weeks. This isn't _love_, Kurt, and if it was, you would have told him that earlier at Rachel's house. If this was love, you wouldn't hesitate at all. You would _know_, because you wouldn't be able to hide it. Love is completely identifiable, Kurt. Why wouldn't it be? How could something that's supposed to be so magnificent and awesome be hard to recognize? They don't make love like that, Kurt. That's not how it works.

No, he can't be gone. He just…he can't be.

I got up from my bed, rushing up the stairs and calling Blaine's name. I went to every room, upstairs and downstairs, turning on lights and repeating his name every moment or so. All that answered was silence, each room lifeless and void of motion. My voice became hoarse as I descended the stairs after my search, turning off lights on my way back to my room.

He's gone. He's really gone. There's nothing I can do about it.

I crawled onto my bed, dropping my body over the sheets and letting my face mesh into one of the pillows. The fact that the pillow was the one Blaine had been sleeping on all week hadn't occurred to me until his scent filled my lungs.

Tears finally welled up in my eyes as a wave of misery came over me. I don't know why, but I missed him so much in that moment. I missed his cool, calm nature that would tell me everything would be alright when I freaked out. I missed the way he insisted on holding me at night, and the safety of waking up in his arms. It hadn't even been two hours since I'd seen him, but I just…_I missed Blaine_.

I curled my arms around his pillow, holding it tight as I finally allowed myself to cry. Time passed by slowly as I let my tears soak into the fabric, memories of the week flying through my head and anxiety of what the future held torturing my mind. I was overwhelmed with emotion about the fact that I had virtually no control over anything. Everything was falling apart, and all I could do about it was lay here and slowly saturate a stupid pillow.

Eventually my eyes grew tired from crying, and I lay my head on the pillow that I had squeezed to death, waiting for my hiccups to stop. Without realizing it, I fell asleep.

* * *

><p>I woke up to sunlight and memories of Thursday night.<p>

_Kurt was still freezing. He and Blaine had just gotten back from their double date, and walked inside after staying out on the porch for ten minutes. After he got ready for bed, he slipped under his covers quickly, trying to warm himself under the blankets. _

"_Still cold?" Blaine asked, coming out of the bathroom. _

"_Yes, and you sure seem to be taking your time over there." _

_Blaine smiled, tilting his head in confusion as he put some socks on his feet. "Well we sure are clingy tonight, aren't we?" _

"_It's a lot warmer when you're here," Kurt replied, rubbing his arms under the blanket. "and I'm pretty sure that cold blooded or something." _

"_You are anything but cold blooded," Blaine lifted up the covers and got in on the right side of the bed. Kurt turned his body in his direction, still slightly shaking with chilliness. "C'mere," Blaine sighed, opening his arms and pulling Kurt against him. _

_Kurt sighed, contempt as he felt his limbs start to warm up. _

"_Baaaaaby Baluuuuuga," Blaine sang softly, under his breath. _

"_That's an insult, isn't it," Kurt murmured into Blaine's shoulder. _

"_No, it is not an insult. But it's stuck in my head for some reason. I think it's because Beluga Whales are warm blooded mammals." _

"_So you see me as a whale, how comforting." _

_Blaine laughed. "I might see you as a very thin, very cute, tiny version of a Beluga Whale." _

"_You're calling me a whale, Blaine." _

"_A _thin _whale." _

"_I can't decide whether to slap you, or kiss you because that was oddly adorable..." _

_Blaine smiled, "You get very honest at night, Kurt," he observed._

"…_I should probably go with the latter," Kurt continued. _

"_Even if did call you 'whale' in a bad way, you called me the Cheshire Cat tonight, so I think we're even."_

"_The Cheshire Cat is adorable, though." _

"_You're on drugs, aren't you?" Blaine asked, moving back to look Kurt in the eyes. _

"_But you're adorable, so that means the Cheshire Cat has to be adorable." _

"_Fine, then you're a pretty Beluga Whale."_

"_Thank you, charming Cheshire Cat." _

"_That seriously makes me cringe." _

_Kurt smiled back triumphantly. "As does 'Beluga Whale'." _

_Blaine smiled back, "Then it's settled, Beluga Whale." He moved his head forward, kissing Kurt sweetly on the lips. _

"_Ohhh _Cheshire Cat!_" Kurt moaned, a second after their lips had disconnected. _

"_Oh god, no. Truce, Kurt, truce. I won't call you 'Beluga Whale'." _

_Kurt smiled, pressing his lips against the dark haired man's one more time before closing his eyes. "Goodnight, Blaine." _

"Kurt?" Burt's voice called from outside my door. I sat up, quickly wiping a few stray tears with my sleeve.

"Yeah?"

My dad walked in, a set of keys in his hand a confused look on his face. "This was in our mailbox this morning," he said, tossing the keys onto my bed.

They were my keys, and there was also a note that was rolled up into the loop of one of my decorative key chains. My heart began to speed up as I pulled it from the metal and unfolded it.

_**Kurt,  
>I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess.<br>I'm sorry for making you lie.  
>I'm sorry for any feelings I may have caused.<br>I'm sorry for temporarily stealing Jackie's car.  
>-Blaine<strong>_

I stared at my blanket in distress, then looked towards my dad.

"You mind telling me what the hell is going on, Kurt?"


	13. Chapter 13 Drive All Night

**This chapter was beyond difficult to write**

**(Blaine Anderson's Point of View)**

It was hard to pay attention to the road on the way back to Kurt's house. Every minute or so Kurt's reaction would play back in my head, and then my eyes would cloud up with tears. I wiped at them quickly while driving, trying my hardest not to think about anything and just keep my goddamn eyes on the street in front of me.

"_God_, where am I even _going_?" I whispered out loud, harshly cutting the silence in the car. Somehow I had found myself on this long stretch of road in the middle of Lima, Ohio. Reaching towards the dashboard, I clicked Kurt's GPS on, relieved to find that he had his home address saved in the device.

Evidently, I must have been driving in the right direction, because once the GPS was done calculating it said I was only about three minutes away from the Hummel household. After parking in the driveway, next to Jackie's car, I rested my forehead against the steering wheel, crossed my arms and propped them on top of my head.

_Why?_

Why did he say that he didn't love me? I know it isn't true, it can't be true. There's…_something_ in the way that he acts when he's with me. He just doesn't realize it. I refuse to believe that he doesn't love me.

That _bastard_.

Why did he make me say that so soon? Why does he have to be so goddamn perfect is every goddamn way, and make it impossible for me not to say things like 'I love you' at the first chance I get. If he didn't want this, he should have never let me kiss him on Christmas Eve. He should have never asked me to make love to—_fuck_ him that night. He should have never flirted back, or smiled at me, or sung in the goddamn perfect voice of his when I asked him to. He should have never stood under that damn mistletoe, or given me those damn Christmas gifts, or have taken me out on a fuckingdate.

That _freaking _bastard.

I grabbed at the door handle angrily, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind me. The cold air hit me and I pulled at the collar of my jacket as I quickly walked to the front door. It took me a minute to figure out which key was for the house, but I got in soon enough, closing the door behind me.

Being in the house by myself felt very weird, and I felt like I had no place being there. _What am I doing here?_ This isn't my home. This isn't my life. This isn't my family. Why am I intruding on their lives?

I sighed, running a hand through my curls as I walked into the kitchen and turned on the light so I could see down the steps into Kurt's room. Everything was eerily still, and I felt almost like an intruder to the place. I felt like I was somehow robbing the home of its dignity. For a moment I thought that the feeling would go away when I reached Kurt's room, but it didn't. It felt even worse when I looked at Kurt's bed, and at his things.

I stood in the middle of the room for a couple of minutes, mindlessly fidgeting with the keys in my hand and staring down at the different pieces of metal. There was a pink key at the end of the metal loop that grabbed my attention, with little yellow flowers outside the Nissan logo. I assumed that the key was Jackie's and stared at it for a little while, admiring the design on the metal.

A very, very dangerous thought popped into my head, and before I really thought about it, I was rushing towards my stuff in the corner of the room, and beginning to pack my things. It was a blur of clothes and shopping bags as I attempted to try and remove any evidence of the fact that I had stayed in the bedroom at all. Three minutes later, there were several bags slung over my shoulders, and the only thing left to take was my guitar. I took a deep breath, looking around the room one more time before walking out the door and up the basement stairs.

I didn't allow myself to ponder the idea because I knew that if I stopped to think about it for too long, I wouldn't go through with it. All I wanted was to be out of here – away – far from it all. I popped the trunk of the Nissan Versa open without hesitation, dropping my things in the back before jogging back around to the driver's seat. I turned the car on and grabbed Jackie's GPS from inside of her glove compartment, searching for the place named '_The Anderson Inn_' in the accommodations category.

* * *

><p>"<em>So how was your Christmas?" Kurt asked, walking in on Blaine on his laptop, sitting criss-crossed on top of the bed. <em>

_Blaine looked up, smirking at the other boy. "It was fantastic. Couldn't have asked for better." _

_Kurt smiled and nodded, crossing his arms and leaning on his left foot casually. He looked around the room, glancing towards the electric piano that was still in its box in the corner of the room. "Do you know how to play piano?" _

"_Yep." _

"_Are you good?" _

"_Um…yeah…I'm alright I guess. I mean, I'm not a concert pianist, but I can fudge my way through things." _

"_Well let's see," Kurt said, walking over to the piano he had gotten for Christmas and picking it up from where it was leaning against the wall. He carried the box to the bed, set it down and began the process of taking the instrument out of the box. _

"_Can you play?" Blaine asked, taking the laptop off his lap and putting it aside. _

"_Yes," Kurt replied, sliding the bubble-wrapped electric instrument out of the box, "but I haven't played in a long, long time." _

"_Neither have I." _

"_Well, it's a good thing I got a piano then, isn't it?" Kurt unwrapped the cord that came in the box, and got up to go plug it in, in an outlet on the other side of his bed. Blaine took the other end of the cable, plugging it into the back of the piano. "This is actually really nice," He murmured in wonder, staring at shiny keys and the vast varieties of buttons on the keyboard. _

"_Play something," Blaine said with a smile, propping his chin on his fist. _

_Kurt scooted closer to the piano and put his fingers over the keys. He laughed quietly to himself in reminiscence before playing. "Don't make fun of me. My whole piano repertoire consists of the music I listened to when I was 14." _

"_No one's making fun of you." _

"_I can see it that stupid smile you're wearing," Kurt defended, pointing his finger towards Blaine, but still grinning himself. _

"_This is not my judgmental smile, this is my 'waiting for Kurt to play something on his piano' smile." _

_The other boy sighed, playing a few experimental chords before rhythmically pressing out an E minor chord. Blaine tilted his head, trying to figure out what Kurt was trying to play. _

"_Sing it," he said. _

"_Cause every time we touch I get this feeling, and every time we kiss I swear I can fly. Can't you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last. Need you by my side," Kurt sang. _

_Blaine had been beaming the whole time Kurt sang, "Okay, okay, Cascada, not bad. Next?" _

"_Umm…" Kurt made a face, trying to remember something. A moment later he was playing a B minor chord. "SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GOOOOOOONE. I CAN BREATHE FOR THE FIRST TIME. I'M SO MOVING OOOOOOON, YEAH YEAH. THANKS TO YOU, NOW I GET, WHAT I WAAAAAAAAANT," he scream-sang, purposefully trying to sound obnoxious. _

"_That was beautiful," Blaine replied, wiping away an imaginary tear._

"_Your turn!" Kurt turned the piano around, so it was facing Blaine. _

_Blaine thought for a moment before splaying his fingers over the keys. "Look at this photograph, every time I do it makes me laugh—" _

"_Oh dear god, _no_. Don't you dare play Nickelback in this room. _Not in my house_." Kurt interrupted, reaching over and stilling his playing. Blaine's eyes squinted as he doubled over in laughter. "This is no laughing matter!" Kurt said as he got up off the bed and went over to the bathroom to change into his pajamas._

_Blaine's laughter subsided, and he started playing again, first a strong low chord, and then the melody on a higher octave. Kurt recognized the song immediately, and he waited for Blaine to start singing it. However, Blaine didn't sing along, instead he just played the verse through with just an instrumental. Kurt had taken off his shirt and changed into light blue sweatpants by the time the verse was over. He was in a playful mood, and decided to run back into his bedroom, singing out the chorus loudly. _

"_BABY1 BABY! BABY! When you touch me like this!" he sang, closing his eyes and reaching his hands humorously towards the curly haired man. Blaine was a little bit thrown off when he saw Kurt's exposed torso, but picked himself up a second later and continued to play the chorus. "And you hold me like that! It was gone with the wind but it's all coming back to me!_

_Kurt continued to sing, migrating around the room and using one of his bottles of lotion as an spontaneous microphone. Blaine kept pounding out the song on the keyboard, watching amusedly as the brunette gave him a special performance. _

_He belted out the last notes of the song, holding the bottle in front of his face and falling back on the bed near the front side of the piano. Blaine finished playing, dramatically, adding his own fancy riffs and scales to the piece. _

"_Oh yeah, 'not a concert pianist' my ass," Kurt said, looking up at Blaine from where he was lying beneath him. _

"_What, I took piano lessons until my junior year of high school." Blaine leaned down on his elbow next to Kurt, letting his legs hang off at the other side of the bed. _

"_You humble asshole." _

"_You adorable performer." _

"_You can't compliment me after I call you an asshole." _

_Blaine hummed, tilting his head to the side, "Why not?" _

"_It's against the rules." _

"_Against the rules," Blaine chuckled, leaning down closer to me, "I think we've broken a hell of a lot of rules already Kurt."_

"_Think of my reputation." _

"_We're practically criminals." _

"_What will the kids think?"_

"_I don't think you really even know what you're talking about anymore," Blaine laughed. _

"_I don't." Kurt mumbled before their lips met, both of them completely forgetting about the piano. _

"TURN RIGHT IN…1 MILE…EXIT 45." The GPS blared through the silent car.

I snapped out of my daydream, blinking my eyes a few times in an attempt to let go of the memory. I took a deep breath and turned the GPS off, because I was now in familiar territory and knew the streets quite well.

Five minutes later I arrived at _The Anderson Inn_, and I parked out back. I closed my eyes tight, praying to whatever was listening that Cooper still held his annual New Year's Eve parties on the roof. Upon getting out of the car, I looked up, seeing the glimmer of a few disco lights reflecting off the roof and a sigh of relief flooded over me.

"Blaine Anderson, is that you?" I heard a man at the front desk say as soon as I walked in. Looking up, I saw the man who'd been the manager here for the last 20 years, who was always sucking up to my father. He hadn't changed a bit, and he still had this freakishly peppy mood about being a hotel manager.

I lifted my hands a little, trying to hush his excitement to see me.

"Heavens to Betsy, Blaine! I haven't seen your face around in years!"

"Yes, yes I know, Glen, it's nice to see you too." I leaned in close to the counter, glancing around the lobby for anyone familiar. It was fairly empty, being as it was the middle of the night, but there were still a few people who were figuring out their New Years plans. "My father isn't anywhere around here, is he?"

"Nope, he isn't due for a visit for another week, Blainers," Glen replied.

"Okay, good," I sighed in relief, "Is Coop still here?"

"Yes, I believe so. He's his usual get-together on the roof. I think they might be all done by now, but you never know, those crazy kids like to stay up till all hours of the night."

"Alright, thanks Glen," I said with a wave, then walked quickly towards the elevators at the other end of the hotel lobby. My heart was beating like crazy. I felt like someone I knew would walk around the corner at any moment, just dying to hear what I'd been doing with myself for the past couple of years. I wonder what my father had told everyone, where he assumed I had gone. For a brief moment, I considered the idea that he had said that there was a terribly fatal accident. Images of a fake funeral popped into my head, with my whole family dressed in black and my mother dabbing her eye with a tissue.

A bell inside the wall clicked and the elevator door slid open, revealing that there was no one inside. I breathed a small sigh of relief, quickly getting into the elevator and pressing the button labeled '24'. There really was no 24th floor, it was the roof. My father had made it that way so guests would be less intrigued by the option.

The roof was littered with people, still dancing and drinking, enjoying the night in increasingly irresponsible ways. I never understood why Cooper decided it was a good idea to have a lot of people get drunk on a _roof _every year. I mean, seriously? A roof? I know, maybe this year we should celebrate Cinco De Mayo around the peak of a volcano.

The music was loud, and I spotted a DJ in the corner, who was still apparently having just as much fun as everyone else was. My eyes scanned the crowd, searching for my brother in the sea of people. Good call Glen, they've _definitely_ all gone home.

I finally spotted him, sitting on a bar stool, talking very closely to a woman in a small red dress. He was wearing what I had always called his 'smolder'. It's this seemingly irresistible look that he always puts on right before going in for '_the big kiss_', as he likes to call it. My assumptions were proved correct when he a second later he leaned in, cupping the woman's face and kissing her fully on the mouth. Their form was very sloppy, being as they were both probably very drunk, and I crinkled my nose at the sight.

I figured that I should probably do something now if I wanted to talk to him, before things…escalated. Making my way across the dance floor, I kept my head tilted down, just in case someone I knew was there. Once at the bar, I tapped on Cooper's shoulder nervously.

His lips separated with the other girl's with a loud pop as he twisted his head around to look at me. I gulped.

"BLAINE!" Cooper yelped, turning around in his stool and forgetting all about the girl. "Oh my god, man! I haven't seen you in years! Come 'ere!" He pulled me into a hug, and I found myself smiling into his embrace. He really missed me.

"Hey, Coop."

"Where have you _been_, oh my god! I thought, dad said you ran off to college but he never would tell me where and _god_, Blaine. _Where have you been_?"

"Um…New York," I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head.

"_New York_," Cooper echoed, laughing as he hit me playfully in the arm. "I should have guessed! I'm actually thinking of giving that old town a second chance and moving back there. Wait a minute…do mom and dad know you're here? Why weren't you at Christmas, man?"

I stuttered a bit, not sure of how to respond. "Can we um…" I leaned in closer to him, "can we talk about this somewhere else?" I asked, glancing over at the girl in the red dress, who did _not_ look amused.

Cooper looked behind him, "Don't worry gorgeous, this will only be a second." He lead me away from the bar and back through the crowd. There was a small hallway where the elevator was located. The music was muffled inside, so we stopped to talk there. "Where've you been, little brother?"

"Well…New York."

"Yes, I know that, but what school?"

"I um…I haven't…I don't go to school."

Cooper looked confused, turning his head back to the party for a second and then back to me. "But dad said you…"

"Dad doesn't know where the hell I am."

"…Blaine…what's going on?"

"I've been kind of…_going with the flow_ in the city for the past year or two…"

"What do you mean, going with the flow? Cooper asked, still very bewildered, "What, did you join some kind of hippie commune, Blaine? What the hell does 'going with the flow' mean?"

"I…I just…I survived, okay? I'm alright now, that's all that matters."

Cooper's eyes widened and he stepped closer to me, placing his hand tentatively on my arm. "Are you…are you telling me that you were out on the streets?" He looked me hard in the eyes, practically ripping into my soul and reading me like a book.

I averted his gaze and stared down at the ground. I didn't know how to respond, so I simply nodded.

"_Blaine,_" my brother whispered in disbelief. His silence caused me to look at his cautiously through black eyelashes. "_Oh my god, Blaine._" Cooper was suddenly holding me close, his hand on the back of my head and his other arm around my shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me Blaine? I'm your brother…why didn't you come find me…or go live with grandpa…or _anything_ but that, Blaine."

"Grandpa is in Italy, Coop," I mumbled into his shoulder.

"Doesn't matter," he replied, still holding me close, "it's still better than New York City for god sakes. Jesus, Blaine, didn't I tell you not to bother going there? Broadway's dead."

I let out a laugh, shaking my head at his utter irrationality. Suddenly, Cooper mentioning Broadway brought Kurt back to my mind, and I pulled away from the hug.

"That's not it though, that's not why I'm here. I mean, it _is_…but it isn't."

"What's up, little brother?"

"It's a really long story, and I'll tell you the whole thing later, but basically I just need a place to stay for a little while – a place that isn't mom and dad's house."

"Well where have you been staying?"

"At um…at this guy's house in Lima."

"Okay…so how did you get _here_?"

"I um…I kind of borrowed someone's car," I replied sheepishly.

Cooper breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, I thought you stole a car for a second." He laughed to himself, and I just stood awkwardly, my mouth slowly falling open.

"Right…that'd be…crazy…"

"OH MY GOD! YOU STOLE A CAR!" Cooper yelped, his eyes widening as he pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Shhhh! Cooper, shh!" I hushed, looked around to see if anyone heard him. "I didn't _steal _anything."

"Well did you get their permission?"

"…No but—"

"No, Blaine! That is not—what is wrong with you? That is not _borrowing_, Blaine, that is _grand theft auto_."

"But I—"

"No, Blaine, no but's! C'mon, we're leaving," He said, angrily grabbing my elbow while he walked over to the elevator.

"Wha—Coop! What the hell? Where are we going?"

"We're returning that car you stole."

"I can't go back there, Coop!"

"Um, yes you can! And you will!" The elevator doors opened and Cooper pulled me inside.

"It's a long, complicated story, Cooper. And you're drunk! You can't drive!"

He looked at me in bewilderment, "Who said I was drunk? I am not drunk!"

"It's _New Year's Eve_, Coop, there's no way that you're sober right now. And that girl you were with was practically falling off her stool."

"Yes, Blaine, _she _was drunk. I was simply acting like I was drunk so that she wouldn't feel like I was taking advantage of her."

"…but you _were _taking advantage of her…"

Cooper sighed, leaning against the elevator railing, "New Year's doesn't count, Blaine."

I laughed in amazement, looking down at the floor and then to the elevator walls. "You're absolutely crazy."

"No Blaine," the doors opened and he grabbed my elbow again, "I'm not crazy. _You're _the one who stole a car tonight."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

><p>At 5:23 AM I finally pulled up to the Hummel household, with Cooper followed closely in his car behind me. I took the keys out of the ignition and stared at them for while, for no particular reason. I was so damn tired, and a part of me just kind of wanted to go inside and apologize, snuggle up to Kurt and just fall asleep. But I knew that it couldn't be like that. I had ruined everything, and he had probably told everyone the truth by now.<p>

I noticed that the first signs of the sunrise were coming into the horizon, and panicked, knowing that Burt might be leaving to go the garage any minute now. There was a notepad in Jackie's glove compartment, along with a pen. I grabbed it, scribbling out a quick note on the paper and then rolling it carefully into one of the loops of the key chain. Without giving it a second thought, I got out of the car and jogged over to their mailbox, slipping the set of keys inside and then jogged back over to Cooper's car and got in on the passenger side.

"Is that it?" Cooper asked. He was slouching in his seat, with his head propped up on his hand, and his arm leaning on the door.

I took a quick look in the backseat, looking at all of the shopping bags filled with the clothes Kurt had bought me, along with my guitar. "Yeah."

"So you don't have anyone to you know…apologize to…?"

"Already done, I left a note."

Cooper sighed, turning his car back on and putting the gear in drive. "_Yes_, because nothing says 'I'm sorry for stealing your car' like a nice note."

"Can you just drive, please?"

He smiled to himself and began accelerating down the street. I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when the house was out of sight Slouching down in my chair, I closed my eyes and leaned my head to the side, letting drowsiness take over me. I was half asleep when Cooper spoke again, knocking my back into consciousness.

"So when are you going to tell me how you got here?"

"Mmmrrrpphh."

"English, Blaine."

"Can I just sleep for a little bit, please?"

"Well, seeing as I haven't gotten any sleep tonight because I drove you all over Ohio…no, you can't sleep for a little bit," Cooper replied, and then nudged me in the leg. "C'mon, spill."

I sighed, thinking back to last week and trying to figure out whether or not I should filter out certain parts of the story. "I was playing guitar on the street one night, a couple of weeks ago, and this guy and his friend came stumbling out of a bar. They were drunk, and the guy invited me to spend the night on his couch, so I wouldn't have to be out in the cold…"

Cooper's eyebrows rose up in sympathy, and I tried to pretend that I didn't notice, just deciding to continue the story.

"So I stayed on his couch, and then somehow manipulated my way into getting him to let me stay for the rest of the week.

My brother's brow furrowed in confusion, "This does not sound like the Blaine that I know."

"What do you mean?"

"Since when does my little brother invite himself over people's houses? You've always been the least intrusive person I know. I just…can't imagine you doing that."

"Well, I was…fascinated with him."

"With the drunk guy?"

"His name is Kurt, yes. And he's…well he's…for lack of a better term, gorgeous."

Cooper nodded in understanding, "_Ohh_," he sighed. "Okay, continue."

"Yeah…well…I um…I stayed there for about a week, and we ended up getting along pretty well. He was really kind to me, and even though the whole situation should have been the most awkward thing in the world…it wasn't. We clicked. We just got along, you know?"  
>"So a couple of days before Christmas Eve, Kurt's friend called him and Kurt somehow ended up making up this story about how I was his boyfriend. It was apparently some kind of revenge or something that he needed to get out on the girl, and at the moment I seemed like a good candidate as a potential pretend boyfriend.<p>

"Wow, I honestly didn't think the story would be this interesting…" Cooper muttered, looking at me quickly. I just stared at him. "Okay, okay continue."

"And then two minutes after he hung up with his friend, his parents called saying that they heard that Kurt had a boyfriend."

"Wow, news travels fast."

"So anyways, they invited me, 'his boyfriend', over for the holidays, and I managed to convince Kurt into letting me play the role of his significant other."

"Oooo! Blaine! So you _did _fool around with the gorgeous guy."

"You're not going to let me finish my story, are you?" I deadpanned.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm done interrupting I promise."

"So yeah, on the way there he bought me some clothes and we bonded a lot on the way there. Well, that is, until his friend called. She didn't know that he had put her on speakerphone and she made a joke about Kurt thinking I was attractive. I believe the term that she used was 'sex god'."

I looked towards Cooper, whose lips were tightly folded behind his teeth, and had an anxious look on his face.

"You're dying to say something, aren't you?" I asked with a sigh.

"It's legitimately killing me."

"Go ahead."

"How badly did you freak out when you heard that?"

"Oh there was a full on dance party going on inside my head, I can assure you."

Cooper smiled and gestured for me to continue.

"So we arrived at his house, and I met his dad, and started the whole 'boyfriend' thing. And then I found out that we would be sleeping in the same bed, and at first Kurt was kind of very freaked out about that, but he warmed up to the idea quickly." I found myself smiling reminiscently as the memories passed through my head. "The next day was Christmas Eve, and I met his whole family. They loved me. You should have seen me, Coop, I had the charm turned on full blast."

Cooper laughed, and I continued.

"After dinner that night everyone went to a midnight mass, and Kurt and I stayed there to do the dishes. We had some wine, and we danced and sang to Christmas music while we worked. And then um…we were having this little water fight…"

That got Cooper's attention, and his eyebrows rose as he took his eyes off of the road to glance at me.

"…and I kissed him…and then stuff happened."

"Stuff?"

"Yes."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just…stuff…" I answered vaguely.

"What are you—" Cooper's sucked in a breath of air. "_Ohhh_, _that stuff_. You…oh my…._god, _Blaine. Good job, little bro."

"I um…thank you?" It was a bit weird telling all of this to my brother. I hadn't had a conversation with him about this kind of stuff since high school. "So yeah, I guess after…_stuff_…we never really talked about the fact that said stuff happened. It's kind of odd now that I think about it. We were still kind of careful around each other, but if I wanted to kiss him, I just kissed him. After a couple of days he kept wanting to know about my past and why I was in the situation that I was in…and after a couple more days I told him all about it. I'm not really sure when or how it happened, but I slowly started to really fall for the guy."

Cooper gave me a saddened look, because he obviously knew that the story didn't have a very happy ending.

"We um…we went to a New Year's Eve party with a bunch of his old friends, and after midnight I um…I told him that I loved him." My brother gasped quietly in shock. "I asked him if he loved me back, and he said that he didn't. So I left."

"You _left_?"

"I left."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Blaine…that's…why the hell would you leave?"

"Because I'm tired of not knowing what any of this means to him and if it doesn't really mean anything, then I don't even want to be around him anymore. I'm tired of always playing the victim, Coop. For once I just wanted to be in control of _something _and I just _had _to leave."

"Blaine…"

"I don't know how to explain it, I just…I _couldn't stay_." My voice tore a little, and I swallowed thickly to try and cover it up. He looked about me sympathetically again as silence filled the car. I close my eyes as I felt tears start to form, trying to keep myself together.

"You should try to get some sleep," Cooper said quietly, "I'll wake you up when we get back to the hotel."

"Thanks Coop," I whispered back, "for everything."

He reached over and put his hand on my knee, rubbing it kindly for a moment. "Don't worry about it, little bro."

* * *

><p>It was 2PM on New Year's Day , and Cooper and I were sharing a two-bed room back at my father's hotel. The sunlight had come in through the drapes and I stared at the light illuminating the ceiling.<p>

"Hey, B?" Cooper said, from where he was lying the same way on his own bed.

"Yeah."

"I was serious when I said that I was thinking about moving back to New York." I turned my head on the pillow, looking back at him from the bed adjacent to his. "'Free Credit Rating Today dot com' wants to change their advertising strategy, and they're letting me go. I'm ready for a change of pace, and I think the city might be good for me."

I nodded, and moved my head back to staring at the ceiling.

"I'd really love it if you'd come with me," Cooper said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he replied, staring at the ceiling as well, "we both can use a fresh start."

"I'd like that," I said, my mouth twisting into a small smile.

* * *

><p>That night Cooper and I began driving to New York City. We were going to look at apartments, and rent one out as soon as possible. Cooper was going to fly back to California to get the rest of his things, while I stayed in New York and tried to settle things in. For the first time in a very long time, my future seemed hopeful. I wasn't going to let anything stop me from getting what I wanted this time, not even a city as huge as New York.<p>

We were about five hours into the drive there, and I could tell that I was getting way too much time to think to myself. Every few minutes memories of Kurt would come back into my head, and a dull ache would settle itself anew in my chest.

I thought about the moment when I first realized that our relationship was something deeper than just attraction. It was at Puck's bonfire party, after Kurt asked me about high school. He didn't say anything after I told him, he just kissed me. It was as simple as that – a kiss. Kurt purely wanted to help me feel wanted and cherished, so he held my face in his hands and kissed me like I'd never been kissed before

My own emotions kind of freaked me out after that. I had barely known him for over a week, and feelings of love were etching their way into my thinking. That's why I asked him all of those weird questions. I figured that there _had _to be something about him that I would find completely repulsive. There had to be something that broke the cycle of never-ending attraction that I had for him. But the more questions I asked, the more I was sure of it – the more the thought 'I love you' came across my mind.

Why didn't he see that?

Why didn't he see how badly I wanted all of him?

"Do you have a notepad or piece of paper I can borrow?" I asked Cooper.

"Yeah, somewhere in the glove box."

I fished out a yellow legal pad out of the compartment, conveniently finding a blue pen attached to the binding. Finding inspiration, I wrote down the words that came into my head.

_**I'm not looking for a free ride home, back to the middle  
>I need a new locale<br>I need a boy that calls me baby  
>I need to know if he can save me<strong>_

_**I need somewhere I can drive all night,  
>Out into the darkness,<br>Follow the headlights down  
>I've got to know if they can take me<br>I've got to know if they can save me**_

* * *

><p><strong>I hope the dialogue between Blaine and Cooper wasn't too horrible. This took me so freaking long to write, you have no idea. <strong>

**Anyways, that song that Blaine was 'writing' is called "Drive All Night" by Needtobreathe. I changed some of the words for grammar purposes, but all in all, the song is completely compatibly with this story. It will definitely be featured again in another chapter. Go listen to it!**

**I know, I know, nothing's fixed yet. **

**REVIEW.**


	14. Chapter 14 Hector

**...sorry for the wait...again...**

* * *

><p>"I didn't really meet Blaine on a blind date," I confessed, putting my head in my hands. It was time for the truth to come out. There was no turning back now.<p>

Burt's brow furrowed in interest as he stepped closer into the room. He pulled the chair from my vanity over and sat next to my bed. "Go on," he said. I looked up at his bemused expression.

"I…he…"

How do I even begin to explain this?

"I…I met him about two weeks ago, while he was playing guitar outside of a club about a block away from my apartment. He didn't have a place to go for the night. I was drunk, and I invited him to spend the night at my place." My gaze kept moving from my bed to my father, trying to find the safest place to keep it.

"Wait…let me get this straight…Blaine was _homeless_?"

"Blaine _is _homeless."

"I don't understand."

An exhausted sigh pushed past my lips and I looked down at the fidgeting hands in my lap. "We were never together, Blaine and I. He didn't have a place to stay, so I let him crash on my couch for a while. Rachel called me one day and I made up a lie because I was tired of being the one who was always single, while everyone waved their significant others in my face. I didn't know that she would immediately call you guys with 'the news'."

"You invited a _homeless man _into your apartment." Burt said, leaning forward in the chair with his elbows resting on his knees. "_You let a homeless stranger from the streets of New York City stay in your apartment._"

"I was drunk dad, I—"

"_You drunkenly invited a homeless stranger from the streets of New York City stay in your apartment._"

"He's not psycho, I mean, the beard he had at first kind of freaked me out a little and he kind of smelled but…"

"_You drunkenly invited a smelly, bearded, homeless stranger, from the streets of New York City to stay in your apartment_."

"Dad, he's not, that's not who he is. You've all gotten to know him. That's not really him, dad."

"_And then you brought him home…_"

"Can you stop? Please? I know, it sounds…unusual. But please, level with me."

"Why did I ever let you go to New York?" he asked with an ironic smile.

"Dad…"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kurt?" he finally bellowed, raising his hands in the air and widening his eyes. "Do you know how _dangerous _that is? Do you know how _incredibly stupid_ it is to _let a stranger stay in your home_?"

"He's not…he's not like that, dad."

"Yeah, Kurt? Well what if he _was_ like that? You…you…what were you _thinking_?"

"I wasn't thinking anything…it just…it _felt _right" My voice rose somewhat, and I finally felt confident in what I was saying. "I didn't want to leave him alone."

"I'm sure he would have been fine, Kurt! He made it that far without you."

"No, he wouldn't have been _fine_, dad, he's…" I sighed, hanging my head in exasperation as I rubbed my eyes. "He's really important to me now. I…I don't regret what I did. I've helped him."

"What, am I supposed to expect a random homeless person to come home with you every time you come back to Lima?"

"Blaine is just…he's special. That's the only way I know how to describe it. He's special to me."

Burt seemed to be calming down, rubbing his temples in a similar way that I was. "So you developed feelings for the guy?"

"I…yes."

"And now he's not here because…"

"Because he said that he loved me…" I answered.

Burt eyes widened in shock as he took what I said in. He sat there for a while, leaning forward in his seat. He pressed his palms together and rested his pointer fingers against his lips.

"…and then I didn't say it back," I added as an afterthought.

"Well that explains the note." Silence settled between us as I waited for my father to take everything in. "So what are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"There's nothing I really _can_ do about it, dad. He's not here."

"Do you know where he might have gone?"

"I have no idea."

I sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that morning and let myself fall back onto my bed. My head landed on Blaine's pillow, and his scent surrounded me again. I stared at the ceiling as the smell filled my lungs. My mind tried yet once more to come to terms with the fact that he had left me. Maybe if I googled the 'Anderson' name I could find out where his parents lived, just in case he decided to finally go back home. However the more I thought about it, the more I was sure that Blaine wouldn't go running back to his parents. In fact, I'm almost certain that it's the last place he would go.

"Is there any way I can help?" my dad inquired, standing up from the chair and pulling it back to my vanity.

"Not unless you have some sort of GPS tracker on him," I replied.

"Well, do you want to come over to the garage with me? There's an old minivan that this guy gave me last week. It's been a real tough clunker. You wanna help me out with it?"

"I think I'm just going to stay here for a little bit and try to get some more sleep." I rubbed at my forehead as Burt nodded, making his way out of the room, looking dejected.

The fact that I hadn't spent any time alone with him at all this week suddenly hit me in the face.

"Dad?" I said quickly.

"Yeah kiddo?"

"I'll stop by later, I promise."

His features seemed to lighten a bit as he nodded again, before closing the door lightly and heading back up the stairs.

* * *

><p>I was extremely grateful to discover that Finn had a day off from the shop. The last thing I needed was him asking question after question about where Blaine was – why I wasn't spending the day with Blaine – whether or not we had made up – or whether or not I had told him that I loved him. Spending the day alone with my father was a huge blessing in disguise. That afternoon was filled with comfortably mindless chatter, small stories about New York, and what had happened in Lima for the past month or two. I was able to get my mind off of everything and only focus on one thing, finding out why a freaking engine won't stop making an incredibly obnoxious squealing noise. I didn't even mind the awful country music playing in the background. It was unfamiliar, and it didn't remind me of reality in the slightest.<p>

We finally found the source of the problem, sharing a victorious cheer paired with a high five before we got to work on solving it. An hour later the minivan was running perfectly. My dad and I wiped our oily hands on a rag, grabbed water bottles, and tiredly plopped ourselves into the lawn chairs located in the corner of the shop.

"It's alright if I told Carole about Blaine, right?"

I looked up, my eyes widened and my mouth open as I stared back at my dad.

"You're not upset with me, are you?" he asked, looking worried.

"No, no of course not. I mean…it's probably good that she knows. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to tell her myself. Telling _you_ wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do…" We both took another drink of water and stared at the minivan in the middle of the shop. The music in the background filled the silence as we rested there.

"Are you ready to go back to New York?"

I chuckled ironically for a second or two, slouching back in my chair. "Not at all," I said, "but I don't really have a choice. There's a mandatory rehearsal tomorrow night."

"Will you be alright, driving that whole way by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

* * *

><p>"<em>WON'T SOMEBODY COOOOOMME OOOOON INNNN, TUG IN MY SEEEAAAAMS? OH SEND YOUR AAAARRRRMIES IN OF ROBBERS AND THEIIIIIIIIVES TO STEAL THE STATE I'M IN!<em>"

I scream-sang to an empty car, my face contorted in a ridiculous ugly-cry-face as I drove down the freeway.

"_I DOOOOOOON'T WAAAAAAAAANT IT ANYMOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!_"

No one knows what real solitude is like until they've driven by themselves for a significant amount of time. Then, and only then, will you find out the true depths of your personality. You're locked in a steel cage, forced to concentrate on the road in front of you, left alone to your own thoughts and whatever happens to be playing on the radio. It's basically like being isolated in a mental institution, except there's no straight jacket or cool pillowed walls. What you end up saying/singing/yelling in an empty car is actually quite shocking. There's a bizarre cycle of pure ridiculousness simply spurting out of your mouth, and then you freak out because you know if anyone else heard the things you were saying, they would probably ship you off to the loony bin.

It was 2 PM on Monday afternoon and I had been driving for eight hours. My iPod was on shuffle, and it seemed to be accommodating to a very wide variety of emotions. One minute I would be singing victoriously along to something self-empowering, like Kelly Clarkson's 'What Doesn't Kill You', and then the next minute I would be screaming depressing Sara Bareilles lyrics at the top of my lungs…just like right now.

"_YOU'RE BEGGING FOR THE TRUUUTH_, _SO I'M GIVING IT TO YOUUUU_," I sang out obnoxiously, blatantly ignoring the soft tone of the voice on the track, "_I'VE BEEN SAVING YOUR PLAAAACE. BUT WHAT GOOOD DOES IT DO? NOW I'M JUST A BASKET CAAASE!_"

The song died down with a final strum of a guitar and buzz of a harmonica. The silence was loud, and my heart clenched with memories of Blaine and feelings of lamentation.

"Oooh, you bastard," I said out loud, waiting for the next song to start.

Maybe it would be safer for me to just listen to an audio book or something.

* * *

><p>Another two hours later I was seriously running low on energy. The song 'Unchained Melody' had just been blasting through the speakers (seriously, why the hell do I even have that song?). It had made me an emotional mess, and I pulled into a truck stop so I would be able to stretch my legs. I wiped at my eyes hurriedly before I got out of the car, trying to hide all signs of the rivers that were previously rushing down my face.<p>

It wasn't a very large rest stop, and it only consisted of a gas station equipped with a mini-mart and a Dunkin' Donuts. The ever-present need for coffee flashed across my mind and I headed over to the coffee shop first. I never really go to Dunkin' Donuts…so I didn't really have a coffee order ready. Starbucks is usually my coffee shop of choice.

"Can I help you?" the worker behind the counter asked. I realized that I had been staring blankly at the menu for about a minute, not even concentrating on what to order, just simply staring at the words.

"I—um yeah. Can I have a um…" I furrowed my brow, ordering the first thing that popped into my head. "Can I have a plain medium black coffee, please?"

"Sure thing," he said, returning with a cup of coffee thirty seconds later. "That'll be $1.45."

I handed him two dollar bills and thanked him for the drink, putting the change in the small container labeled 'tips'. My stomach rumbled and I walked over to the mini-mart located in the gas station section of the rest stop. As I scanned the row of snacks I haphazardly brought the Styrofoam cup to my lips and took a long sip of the drink. My face scrunched up in distaste when the liquid settled on my tongue, and I looked down at my hand in confusion. What am I thinking? I don't even like black coffee!

Oh.

Medium black coffee…medium drip. I just ordered Blaine's coffee order.

"_That fucking bitch_," I muttered, closing my eyes as I ran a hand through my hair.

"Excuse me?"

I turned looked up to see a blonde young man with a grey beanie, and thick rimmed glasses staring at me from the other side of the shelf.

"Oh no, I wasn't talking to you!" I replied hastily with wide eyes, "I was talking to…me…?"

"Well you certainly don't look like a 'fucking bitch' to me," the shorter man replied with an outgoing smile.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," I mumbled.

"What was that?"

"What brand of granola bar would you advise?" I spurted out quickly.

Well where the hell did that come from?

The other boy walked over to my side of the isle, a joyous smile lighting up his face. "Well, I really love 'Nature Valley', but the taste can get pretty old if you eat 'em enough. Well, I guess _any_ type of granola bar would get old after a while. Granola is kind of one of those things that you can only stand every once in a while, if ya know what I mean?"

No, I don't know what you mean. Who the hell gets sick of granola?

"Yeah, I know what you mean!" I reassured, trying to figure out why I was still talking to him. "That granola…can't live with it…can't live…without it?" What?

I lifted the cup of coffee back to my lips, forcing down another sip just so I had something to do.

"I'm Chandler, by the way." He reached a hand out to shake, and I hummed in acknowledgement, lowering my drink so that I could return the gesture.

"Kurt."

"So where're you headed, Kurt?"

"Oh, I'm on my way to New York…"

"No way! Me too!" he exclaimed. "My sister and I have tickets to see a show tonight!"

"That's neat, what show?"

"Godspell! I wanted to see Wicked again but my sister said that three times is more than enough and that I should give other shows a chance. Have you seen it?"

"Godspell?"

"No, Wicked."

"Oh, um, I'm kind of…in the show…"

"_WHAT_?" he practically shrieked. "Where—who do you play?"

"I'm one of the flying monkeys."

"_No way!_"

"Way…" I answered, and rubbed at the back of my neck.

"Oh my god! This is unbelievable! Who would have thought that I'd meet a _Broadway star _at a pit stop!"

I laughed a little, extremely flattered. "You're too sweet."

Chandler blushed, looked out the window behind him and then back to me. "I think my sister might kill me if I take any more time, but um…do you think I could possibly get your number?"

My mouth dropped open. This is what he was trying to get at? I…seriously? Wow.

"I um…I would…but" What about… "I'm actually kind of in a relationship right now," I said, shocking myself.

"Oh…" He looked down, smiling ironically. "I should've guessed…a guy as cute as you…I just thought since you were alone and all."

I smiled awkwardly, looking back at the shelf.

"Well I'll um…it was nice to meet you, Kurt."

"You too, have fun at your show. I hear 'Godspell' is really good."

"Yeah I did too," he laughed before walking away. "Bye!"

I waved my hand shortly, gazing back at the shelf for a second. Why did I just say that? I'm obviously single.

* * *

><p><strong>Incoming Call from Jackie <strong>

I picked my phone up from the compartment beside the driver's seat, pressed the 'accept button and put it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Kurt! Hi, how's your drive?"

"It's going well, I'll be in the city in about a half an hour," I replied.

"Good, good. Am I on speaker?"

"Yes, you are."

"Okay, just wanted to be sure before I said anything that you would get mad at me for." I could hear the smile in her voice. "How are you, Blaine?"

"Blaine's not here," I revealed, and then cursed out loud at the sound of sadness in my voice.

"Well where is he? You didn't forget him at a truck stop, did you?" she joked.

"No he um…he left me."

"He…he left _you_? Kurt, what…"

"He just…he left. He's not with me anymore."

"_Kurt_…"

"I'll talk about it when I get back, alright?" I didn't feel like having this conversation over the phone.

"Alright hun…are you okay?" She sounded like she was worried for me.

"I'll be fine, I think."

"I'm at a store a few blocks from your apartment, is it alright if I meet you when you get home?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay, I'll see you soon. Drive safe, Kurt."

"Thanks, bye Jackie."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>Going home and telling Jackie about what happened felt odd. During the last minutes of my drive, I had predicted that I would probably fall apart as soon as I started to explain what happened, and that I'd end up sobbing and hiccupping in my poor friend's arms. Surprisingly, it didn't happen that way. I told the whole story with only a few tears clouding up my vision. The whole thing was surprisingly calm. Nevertheless, it all seemed to confuse Jackie. She wasn't sure that I could have fallen in love with a man in the matter of a week, especially under our circumstances. I simply shrugged in response, and asked her if she would like to stay and have takeout with me.<p>

Before I knew it, life was starting to go back into its regular swing. Except for school, that is. Wicked rehearsals and the New Year's shows took up half of my time during my first few days back. The only problem was that I had nothing to do with myself during the other half of the time.

* * *

><p>"Well where are you, Jackie?" I spoke into the phone, mindlessly walking down 19th street. It had been two weeks since I came back from Ohio. It was Monday, and there was no show scheduled for today.<p>

"Kurt, I told you, I'm babysitting my niece," Jackie replied from the other end of the speaker. "_No, Olivia, I said to leave that man alone!_" she whispered harshly into the background.

"But you said that we'd hang out today!"

"No Kurt, you _asked me_ if we _could _hang out today…and then I told you 'possibly'."

"Yes, there's a possibility that I'm desperate."

The freezing wind began to pick up, and I wandered into a pet shop to get out of the cold.

"Darling, there's also a probability that I'll have this four-year-old until 6 tonight," Jackie sighed.

"Okay, so bring her over!" I suggested, my eyes locking on a cage near the front of the store. There sat a tiny chocolate Labrador retriever. He was running around in the plastic cage, chasing a small brown ball from corner to corner, his tongue hanging out in pure happiness.

"What is a preschooler going to do in your apartment for the next five hours?" she asked mockingly.

"_Actually_…I have something she might like." The puppy suddenly looked up at me, leaving the ball to roll to the other side of the cage. His tail started wagging, and he quickly ran over to the side closest to the aisle, jumping up so his front paws rested against the glass.

"It better not be a blown up condom."

"Jackie!" I exclaimed. Suddenly a little girl's voice traveled in from behind Jackie asking what a condom was and I burst into silent laughter.

"Something very, very top secret that only adults can know about," Jackie responded to her niece. "Kurt, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, absolutely," I affirmed, reading over the dog's description that was taped to the cage.

"_I WANNA KNOW ABOUT CONDOMS_," four-year-old Olivia shrieked from the other side of the line. Jackie furiously shushed her, and then aggressively gave a reminder that they were in public.

"That's what you get for bringing sexual innuendos into the conversation."

The preschooler began shouting the word 'condoms' over and over again, and I can only imagine what Jackie's face must have looked like.

"Kurt I can't really talk right now."

"Alright honey, be at my apartment in an hour!"

"No con—balloons!"

"No rubber things of any kind, you have my word," I replied with a laugh.

"Not funny," she responded, sounding out of breath. "Bye Kurt."

"Bu-bye." I pressed 'end call' and went over to the cashier's desk. The bored looking teenage boy who was manning the store looked up from his phone. "How much for the chocolate lab over there?" I asked.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later I was walking out of the shop holding a leash, and a large bag of dog food. The small puppy's tail was wagging back and forth so fast that his butt waved excitedly as we began down the street. I smiled down at him, watching as his small paws tapped against the concrete sidewalk.<p>

_Kurt and Blaine sat by the fire, with fleece blankets still over their laps and mugs of hot apple cider still in their hands. Puck and Artie were lazily plucking rhythmic chords on their guitars while everyone else stared at the fire and talked. _

"_So Blaine," Rachel said, "tell us how you convinced Kurt to get a dog. Finn told me about Hector and I just can't believe it." _

"_It's not like I hate animals, Rachel," Kurt defended. _

"_No, but we've talked about this before, Kurt. It was back in September. I said that it must be lonely living in an apartment in NYC all by yourself and I suggested that you get a little puppy or kitty. And then you said that you already had enough things to stress about and you didn't think that adding an animal to that would make it any better," Rachel explained. _

_The brunette quirked his lips to the corner of his mouth as he tried to figure out how to respond. Before he could elaborate on anything, Blaine answered for him. _

"_Yeah, he told me that too," the curly haired man said, smiling at Kurt in a fake-reminiscence. "But I dragged him into this pet shop one day and we both just absolutely fell in love with the dog. The next thing we knew, we were scooping dog poo off of the kitchen floor." _

_Kurt found himself grinning at the made-up story, making eye contact with Blaine. "And there you have it." _

"_And I named him Hector," Blaine added._

* * *

><p>"PUPPY!" Olivia cried out when she and Jackie walked into my apartment. She immediately ran over to where the dog was sitting on the living room carpet. The Labrador's ears perked up in alarm, and he backed away to the other side of the couch. The little girl then proceeded to chase him all around the apartment, creating an odd game of tag. She was always 'it', of course.<p>

"Kurt?" Jackie said hesitantly as she closed the door and put her bag on the floor. "When did you get that?"

"Oh, about an hour ago," I responded, watching Olivia giggle while she chase the dog into the kitchen.

Jackie gave me an estranged look. "You didn't do this for her, did you?"

I held my chin up in innocence and sat down slowly on my leather couch. "No…I just…felt like getting a puppy."

"Ohhh, I see." Jackie walked into the room and sat down on the other seat. "So this is about Blaine."

I scoffed, although I knew perfectly well that she was right. "Why would this be about Blaine?"

"Well, I mean, everyone needs a little bit of _companionship_." She flared her hands as she talked. "You know, man's best friend and all. Plus, I can totally see the parallels with the whole 'in need of a home' thing."

"So I can't just buy a dog without there being some kind of psychological back-story?"

"Nope," Jackie replied, "not when your name is Kurt Hummel."

"Now that's just discrimination."

"No, that's just _honesty_."

I sighed and sat back in the sofa, letting myself sink down into the cushions. "_I know_," I whined in defeat. Jackie grinned and leaned her head against her palm in satisfaction.

A moment later Olivia chased the dog back into the room, causing the puppy to scamper over and jump onto my lap. I couldn't help but smile as I combed my fingers into his soft dark fur and scratched his back.

"So what's his name?"

"Hector."

Jackie looked at me strangely. "_Hector?_"

"Yep," I responded, holding the puppy up by the sides and making baby faces at him.

She stared at me, her eyebrows bent in confusion before he she held up her hands in defeat. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask why. It's probably some kind of sex-safety word between you and Blaine."

I gave her an aggravated look and settled the dog back onto my lap. Just as an excellent comeback popped into my head, little Olivia started talking, no longer distracted by the newborn pup. "What's a sex-safety word?" she asked in her purely innocent four-year-old voice.

Jackie raised a hand to her forehead, looking completely horrified. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You know, I think you might be my favorite preschooler in the city," I commented as I put Hector down on the floor for her to play with again.

"You," Jackie said, pointing at me, "don't encourage this." She looked back at Olivia, wearing her best 'disciplining aunt' face. "Those are _very _special grown up-words that you shouldn't repeat to anyone…especially mommy," she added.

"Like 'condom'?"

"Just like 'condom'!" I declared with a wide smile before Jackie could speak. "Good job, honey!"

"No! Kurt, shut up." Jackie demanded.

"'Shut up' isn't nice," Olivia protested, frowning in disapproval.

"You're right, Olivia, it isn't." I agreed with a similar frown. "I believe you owe me an apology."

"_I'm sorry, Kurt_," she growled through gritted teeth. "Now Olivia, you have to promise me that you won't say any of those words anymore."

"But _you_ say them," the four-year-old retorted.

"Yes, but I'm a grown up."

Olivia crossed her arms. "I wanna be a grown up," she pouted, "with condoms and safety-sex words."

I let out a breath of air in shock, my mouth twisting upwards in amusement.

"Olivia! I told you not to say those things!" Jackie scolded. The small girl still wore a deeply offended frown. "You have to promise me that you _won't say them._"

"Will you buy me cookies?"

"Yes, I will buy you cookies," she sighed. "But you have to _promise_."

"Okay!" the little girl concurred with delight, then went to go play with the dog.

"This is entirely your fault." Jackie accused, rubbing her forehead with both hands.

I chuckled, stretching out on the couch and relaxing. "No Jackie, I think the blame goes to your lack of a mouth filter."

* * *

><p>My school courses started up again a week later, and it didn't take long for me to get drowned in a heavy load of stress. Every part of me was thrown was thrown into going to school full time, doing eight shows a week, and taking care of Hector.<p>

Mornings were full of lectures, afternoons were full of homework and trips to the dog park, and nights were full of leotards and costume makeup.

Having a dog was really nice, though. There was always someone to cuddle with (partly because Hector demanded them and…who doesn't love cuddles?).

In the back of my mind I knew that I was trying to replace Blaine. Often on late nights, I would immediately plop myself down at the empty kitchen counter to eat. Loneliness frequently settled in during meals. I'd find myself gazing at my fork and playing with my food, memories of dinners with Blaine floating through my head. A shallow ache would settle inside my rib cage and just linger there as I stared into space. Before I knew it, I would end up wiping away tears, with my head in my hands in frustration.

Those were also times when Hector really came in handy. He'd eventually figure out that I had food with me and come running to my feet, putting on his best sad-face and leaning his head against my leg. It was a distraction when I really needed it. Cuddle sessions after dinner weren't really forced upon me.

* * *

><p>"Kurt, can I talk to you real quick?"<p>

I lifted my head up to see Wayne, our choreographer, walking up to me as I strapped the special flying monkey boots on. Immediately, my posture stiffened, and I stood up straight, giving him my full attention. Oh god, was he firing me? Please please please please don't tell me I'm losing this job.

"Um…yeah, sure. What's up?"

"How have you been doing, with this whole Broadway scene? I know that you haven't done a show before, and I just wanted to see how you're adjusting."

"Oh." I internally breathed a sigh of relief. "I—I'm doing grea—"

"WAYNE!" someone called from backstage.

"HOLD ON A MINUTE!" he yelled behind him, then turned back to me. "How about we talk about this next Tuesday before the show? We can go to a get coffee or something and we'll talk about your career as a monkey."

I smiled hesitantly, not really sure if he was making a joke with the whole 'monkey' thing. "Uh—um yeah, sure. That's fine."

Wayne gave me a thumbs' up and a quick smile and turned around. "Just give your cell number to Lucy and she'll give it to me later," he yelled behind him as he walked away quickly.

I'm going out to coffee next week with the choreographer of the Broadway show Wicked.

Okay.

* * *

><p>The coffee shop that Lucy told me to go to was quite large, larger than most New York City coffee shops. It was like a Starbucks 2.0. It had a separate café, a sea of tables and couches, even desks in a corner for studying. God, why didn't I find this place earlier? It is <em>the <em>perfect place to do homework.

My head kept imagining Wayne walking in and saying that I wasn't good enough for Broadway, and telling me that they found another dancer. I bounced my leg nervously off the ball of my foot as I waited. I was sitting alone at a booth in thing corner, tapping on the glass mug filled with mocha in front of me. _Glass mugs. _Now that's classy. I could definitely get used to this place.

"Sorry I'm late," Wayne said as he dropped his things in the seat across from me. He looked awfully stressed out, but smiled at me once he got situated. "Hi, Kurt."

"Hello," I responded, still very nervous.

"How was your holiday week off?"

"It was good, fine." Did that sound passive?

"Good, that's great," Wayne slouched suddenly, and sighed. "Look, Kurt, I know that I haven't talked with you at all about this job since I hired you. I'd like to apologize for that. These past couples of months have been kind of stressful, as you probably know. This whole process with you has been completely unconventional. I mean, I know _I've _never heard of a college student getting into a Broadway show for anything more than an internship in costume design. This is very much a 'lucky' situation on your part."

For the love of god, please don't fire me.

"You've been doing a surprisingly splendid job, especially with not having a lot of background in theatre and dance." Wayne continued. "I've heard nothing but good things from the rest of the cast and your fellow flying monkeys. So, good job with that. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you," I said in a small voice, not really believing what I was hearing.

"Basically I just wanted to know how you feel about being in the show. You never had a proper interview."

"Oh, the show? Well I…I love it. I've always adored Wicked and being a part of it is a huge dream come true." Wayne looked at me with a smirk, like I was saying exactly what he expected to hear. "I'd love to stay for as long as you'll have me."

"Well that's great, Kurt. We're happy to help you with your start in the theatre. You've been an excellent monkey."

The sounds of a guitar picking began to play in the background of the shop, and I could feel myself calming down. _They're not firing me_.

"Alright well, we should head to the theatre soon. I'm going to go get myself a coffee, because god knows I need it."

With that Wayne slipped out of the booth and over to the counter. I gazed down at the cup in my hands, a bright smile starting to form on my face. _They really like me._

The guitar picking had turned into strumming when Wayne left, and it finally caught my attention. When I turned to look at where it was coming from my stomach twisted into twenty knots.

There, on the other side of the coffee shop, sitting on a stool, on a small stage, sat Blaine Anderson.

"_I ain't looking for a free right home, back to the middle.  
>I need a new locale.<br>I need a boy that calls me baby,  
>I need to know if he can save me.<em>

_I need somewhere I can drive all night,  
>out into the darkness,<br>follow the headlights down.  
>I need to know if they can take me,<br>I need to know if they can save me." _

There Blaine was, in all of his glory. He crooned into the microphone with his eyes closed, and his hands strumming rhythmically against the guitar strings.

"_Focus in every word, change my path.  
>Maybe I could leave a mark.<br>Try and prove the poets wrong.  
>There must be a time.<br>Maybe we can be the song to march us on." _

I recognized the cardigan he was wearing as one of the ones that we bought together at Banana Republic in December. All of the rest of his clothes were new. My heart clenched in relief when I realized that he was obviously _doing well_. Then it clenched again when I realized that _he didn't need me_.

"_Beg the book to turn the page,  
>cause I get stuck where the villains get away.<br>Somewhere in this wretched tale there must be a line,  
>where the victim gets his way.<br>Just one time.  
>Oh, I'll get mine." <em>

I'd never heard him sing like this. Blaine was giving it everything that he had. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. He had no idea that I was here and he looked so beautifully captivated by what he was singing.

"_I ain't looking for a free ride home, back to the middle.  
>I need a new locale,<br>I need a boy that calls me baby.  
>I gotta know if he can tame me. <em>

_Drive all night,  
>yeah baby just hold on tight.<br>Close your eyes,  
>yeah and we can say goodbye." <em>

"Oh god, we are _late_." Suddenly Wayne was back, holding a 'to go' coffee cup and frantically grabbing his things. I was snapped back into reality, watching my choreographer as he hoisted his bags over his shoulder. "Well, don't just stand there! We gotta go!"

I hesitated for a moment, looking back to where Blaine was, quietly strumming in between songs onstage.

_I'm coming back_, I thought to myself, grabbing my bag to follow Wayne out the door.

_Wait for me, Blaine. I'm coming back._

* * *

><p><strong>He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!<strong>

**So a lot of you probably know about the whole thing with stories being reported and deleted from this site. If that does end up happening to me (which I hope it won't, knock on wood), this story is also on the scarves and coffee klaine website. I'm under the same username, just without all the "."s. You can also find me on tumblr, my url is blaineslosttwinsister. **

**But yeah, anywho...**

**Review and let me know what you think! Like I mentioned in the last chapter, that song is called 'Drive All Night' by NeedToBreathe. **


	15. Chapter 15 The Incident With Sebastian

New York City is a massive place. 8 million people are piled into 469 square-miles of concrete. I knew that the chances of finding Blaine were slim to none, but I was still hanging on to that 'slim', even by the skin of my teeth. A tiny flame of hope flickered in my chest as I stood in line at the coffee shop.

"May I have whoever's next please?" a female barista called from behind the counter.

"Hi," I greeted as I stepped forward. "Last night there was a man named Blaine Anderson performing at your coffee shop, and I was wondering if you could give me some information on him?"

"Last night?" the woman responded. "I wasn't working last night, I'm afraid I don't know anything about that."

"Well you must have some kind of information on him. I mean, don't you have any sort of schedule for artists? This can't be some sort of one time deal."

"Sir, we have a long waiting list for musicians to play in this shop. This city is full of people who want to play their originals in front of unsuspecting strangers. All we have is a signup sheet with a name for stage reservation. It's usually is filled up weeks in advance."

"Don't you pay them, though?"

"Nope," the woman wiped something off the counter with a dishrag. "They're left with whatever tips people give them. Now, can I interest you in any food or beverages?"

The tiny flicker of optimism had been completely blown out, and replaced by a dull ache of hopelessness that I had gotten so used to feeling since New Year's Eve. "No thank you."

I left the coffee shop, sighing as I made my way down the street, towards the nearest subway entrance. It was a particularly warm day for the beginning of March. The sun was shining down on the city, warming everything in its path, yet there was still a slight frigid crispness in the air. I let my eyes wander up at the tall buildings in front of me, taking in change that the warmth had on the environment.

Maybe it was finally time for me to let go. It had been two months, there's only so long that I can wait around, sulking about some guy who's completely unreachable. Why am I even trying so hard? He knows where I live, he knows where I work, and he knows basically _everything else _about me. If he really wanted to see what we could be, he would have come and found me by now.

* * *

><p>It's hard to stop thinking about someone when you kind of relate them to everything. I was lying in bed - cursing because I had forgotten to turn off the lights prior to getting under the covers - when another memory of a night with Blaine came into my mind.<p>

_Kurt and Blaine had decided to keep watching movies after The Phantom of the Opera had ended. Burt and Carol joined them when they got home from their jobs late in the afternoon. That, of course, put an end to the spontaneous make-out sessions that happened between the two boys during slow parts of the movies. _

_Everyone seemed to be feeling lazy that night. Burt ended up ordering pizza instead of having Carole make dinner, and Finn was out somewhere with Rachel. It was just the four of them in the house. Kurt couldn't help but feel that being alone with just Blaine and his parents was like some kind of odd double date. They were both cuddled up together on separate couches, with their limbs tangled up together under shared blankets. By the time ten-o-clock came around, there were two mostly empty boxes of pizza on the coffee table and some movie from the 70's playing on the television. _

_Kurt had been beginning to fall asleep on Blaine's shoulder, only to be awakened by a particularly loud scene about five minutes later. _

"_I think I'm going to head to bed," Kurt declared with a yawn. He sat up and slowly stretched his arms over his head. _

"_Alright kiddo," Burt responded. _

"_Goodnight Kurt," Carol said softly. _

"_Night," he replied._

_Kurt turned and pressed a quick kiss to Blaine's cheek, to keep up the act with his parents, of course. Blaine responded with a small grin as Kurt lifted the blanket off of his legs and got off the couch. _

_The water that splashed against Kurt's face as he went through his moisturizing routine woke him up a bit. Nevertheless, he still felt sluggish and longed to stretch his limbs out in the comfort of his bed. A sigh of contentment left his lips as he finally crawled under his sheets and sank his head onto the pillow.__HHhhhhhhjknjn__ He had decided to only wear pajama pants to bed that night, leaving his torso completely bare under the covers. Kurt slowly shut his eyes, not falling asleep immediately but knowing he would get there eventually. It was then that he realized he had left the lights on, but decided against getting back up to turn them off. He was satisfied to just lie there silently, bask in comfort and think about nothing in particular. _

_A couple of minutes later, the sound of soft footsteps came from the stairs and Blaine walked into the room. Kurt slid his arms across the sheets to rest under the pillow that was below his head, gripping it softly as he watched Blaine move about the room. _

_Blaine had pulled out a shirt and pajama pants when Kurt decided to let him know that he was still awake. _

"_Hi," Kurt said softly, just as Blaine was about to walk to the bathroom. _

_Blaine turned slightly, "Hey," he responded with a whisper, "you're still awake?" _

_Kurt nodded and nuzzled his head further into the pillow. "Forgot to turn off the lights." _

_Blaine nodded in understanding, then silently walked over to the lamps on either side of the room and clicked them off, darkening the room, leaving the only light coming from the bathroom. _

_By the time Blaine came out of the bathroom, five minutes later, Kurt was half asleep. He acknowledged Blaine's footsteps padding across the room from inside his mind, the bed dipping as he got in, and a quick rush of cool air as the sheets were lifted up. A second later Blaine curled up next to Kurt, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing him against his chest. _

"_Mmm, you're warm," Blaine spoke lowly as he nuzzled his face in Kurt's hair. He'd never really noticed just how thick and luscious it was. _

_Kurt sighed out a hum as Blaine began to press light kisses below his hair line, all the way down to his exposed shoulder. Blaine got wound up in the kisses, letting them become even more open-mouthed and moved over to his ear, where he curled his tongue around the lobe. _

"_Blaine," Kurt muttered deeply in his hazy state. He'd been teased by him all day. Kissing lazily on the couch was great, but it always left him wanting more. _

_Blaine moved the hand that was over Kurt's waist and ran it over his stomach, mapping out the small dips and curves of his abdominals. He flattened his palm over Kurt's chest, running it down to his navel and then back up again slowly. His hand reached lower on his stomach every time he moved back down, and eventually he let it slip into the hem of Kurt's sweatpants. He outlined his groin with his fingertips before pushing down deeply with his palm. _

_Blaine was mouthing at Kurt's neck by then, craning his head in order to suck lightly over at the sensitive skin on his neck and run over it with his tongue. _

_Kurt was immersed in sensations. Between the feeling of Blaine's mouth on the back of his neck and his hand over his groin, he could practically feel all of his blood quickly rushing south. Even though they'd done things like this before, Kurt still hadn't fully grasped the concept that Blaine had really _wanted him_. _

_Blaine lifted himself higher, supporting his weight on his forearm and allowing himself to move his lips lazily over the other man's cheek. Kurt moved with Blaine, twisting his body so that he was on his back and met Blaine's lips in a fervent kiss. He sucked on Blaine's bottom lip and tried to send the point that he very much needed him to give him more. Blaine seemed to get the message, and slipped his hand into Kurt's briefs, stroking his cock once and twisting at the head. _

_Kurt tried to cover up his moan with actual words, which just ended up coming out as nonsense combined with the word 'shit'. Blaine let out a breath of amusement against his lips as he continued to move his hand on Kurt's cock. It was a little bit odd for Kurt, just letting Blaine take care of him while he laid back and enjoyed it. _

_Kurt lifted his hands up to cradle Blaine's head as he pulled him down for another kiss. Blaine slipped his tongue in between his lips, humming at the taste of him. Kurt met him in the middle a moment later, allowing his tongue to rub and dance around Blaine's. He couldn't get enough of Blaine's mouth. Every time Blaine pulled back, Kurt would push forward a second later, wishing that Blaine's lips would just stay on his forever. And every time he did this, Blaine would become even more aroused, and he worked his hand faster on Kurt's length. Even though Blaine wanted to be able to see the shadows of Kurt falling apart, he had to admit that just kissing Kurt was even better, in an eccentric way. _

"_Blaine," Kurt muttered with closed eyes, "I'm…I'm…" _

"_Go ahead," Blaine encouraged, "come for me, darling." _

_If Kurt had time to contemplate the term of endearment, he would have thought it to be very strange and rather odd for the fleeting nature of their relationship. But his orgasm crashed through him before he had time to process the words, and his come spilt over Blaine's hand and all over his chest. _

_Once Kurt had calmed down from his orgasm, he immediately reclaimed his mouth over Blaine's, and reached his hand down to return the favor. _

I sighed as I lifted the covers off of me to go and turn off the lights in my bedroom. I noticed that I was a little bit light headed and looked down to see a tent in my briefs.

Great, looks like I'm not getting to sleep anytime soon…

* * *

><p>"Hi," I said as Jackie opened the door to her apartment.<p>

"You're here! Good! We just opened the ice cream," he enthused while beckoning me into the room. The living room was littered with bags of junk food and take out, with several DVD cases spread throughout the mess. Jackie had called me an hour ago explaining that her roommate's boyfriend had just broken up with her, and that I should join them in their post-breakup rituals. Those rituals usually consisted of eating huge amounts of crap, watching horror flicks and romantic comedies (because once you watched a romantic comedy, you feel too shitty to watch another sappy love movie, but then once you've watched a horror movie, all you want to see is something light-hearted), and comforting the person who got dumped.

"Hey Elise," I spoke soothingly as I plopped myself down next to her on the couch, "how are you doing, honey?"

"Terrible," she responded before putting another Dorito in her mouth, "but thank you, darling."

"Right now we're in the middle of a chick-flick cycle, because we just watched 'The Exorcist' and I almost shit my pants," Jackie informed from the kitchen while she got grabbed three spoons for ice cream.

I nodded and looked towards the screen, where the movie was paused leaving Hugh Grant's face looking particularly ridiculous. "So what did the douche-bag say to you?"

"Ben said that I was too 'unladylike'," Elise explained with overly dramatic quotation-mark gestures. "That—that I got along with his dude friends too well and that he couldn't be with someone who he sees as 'one of the guys'. Like…like what the fuck even…_I have a vagina_. Is that not good enough for him?"

"She's a little drunk," Jackie clarified as she sat down on Elise's other side. "She made us Shirley temples earlier and she kind of put an ass-load of vodka in hers."

"I thought getting along with your boyfriend's friends was considered a good thing?" I recalled.

"No, no no it _totally _is! The man is a fucking lunatic asshole shit-bag, is what he is…" Elise slurred with wide passionate eyes.

"Okay, maybe a lot drunk," Jackie observed.

I reached for a spoon and dug it into the quart of cookies-and-cream ice cream. "You know, you'd think that my one dancer friend would be encouraging me to eat healthy…"

"Hey, I haven't done this in a long time," Jackie defended. "I would have done it for you, but you don't like to admit when you're sad."

"You can't force pity parties on people," Elise said while she chewed on another chip. "I've tried."

"I am _not _going to let myself have a pity party over Blaine," I groaned. "We were never really even in a relationship to begin with."

"Pity parties aren't about logistics, Kurt," Jackie leaned over Elise as she pointed out – literally – with her spoon of ice cream. "They're about _feelings_." She retracted the spoon and put it in her mouth. "So how did things go at the coffee shop?"

"Stupidly," I replied as I dug my spoon back in the tub, "they said they didn't have any information on him."

"_Laaaaaaame_," Elise whined.

"Well you shouldn't give up," Jackie encouraged. "You never know, he might be pulling a Nancy Drew and just wants you to figure out where he is."

"You can borrow my magnifying glass," Elise said enthusiastically.

"I don't even know where to begin to look for him though," I sighed, letting my head fall onto the back of the couch.

"Well I mean, maybe there was something in that note he left you?"

"There can't be," I replied, "I read it over a thousand times. All it says is that was sorry for causing 'feelings' and stealing your car and making me lie."

There was silence for a moment.

"He _WHAT_?" Jackie yelled.

Oh shit.

"You said that he just disappeared and left a note. You _never _said _anything _about him _stealing my car_, Kurt!"

"I…I…it was after he said that he loved me…he wanted to go back to the house and I gave him my keys," I argued quietly.

Jackie was silent again, and I could practically see the anger building inside of her.

"He returned it though! It was back the next morning!"

"You are never…_ever_...borrowing my car again."

"But—"

"_NEVER_!"

* * *

><p>The next day, a class on theatre design was dismissed just after noon. I quietly packed my supplies back into my shoulder bag and walked out of the room.<p>

"Hummel, wait up."

Sebastian Smythe began walking towards me, slinging his bag over his shoulder while he moved to catch up. My eyes rolled on their own accord as I turned back around and chose to ignore his request. I continued to walk down the hall.

"Ooo, the rolling of the eyes, that hurts," Sebastian teased sarcastically. He had reached my side and quickened his steps to match the pace of my walking. "In a hurry?"

"I have things to do," I announced half-heartedly as I turned the corner. Sebastian hummed in acknowledgement, but continued to follow me out onto the street. "What do you want, Sebastian?"

"What, we can't just talk?"

"No."

"I thought we were friends!"

"I don't know what your definition of a 'friend' is, but I don't think that one time you told me that my ass looked good necessarily counts as friendly bonding."

"Well, what better time to start than right now?" he smiled, lifting up his palms and putting himself somewhat in front of my path.

"Never?" I dodged him and kept moving on the sidewalk.

"Kuuuuuurt," he groaned, putting his hand on my arm and stopping me from continuing to walk. "Can't you give me the time of day for like, two seconds?"

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, quickly clicking it on and then off again. "It's 12:30, now will you leave me alone?"

Sebastian forced out a fake laugh. "You're very funny, have I ever told you that, Kurt?" I ignored him again and kept walking down the street. It was proved a futile effort when Sebastian was scurrying back over to my side a moment later. "Okay, c'mon Kurt, I just need you to tell me."

"Tell you what, exactly?"

Sebastian sighed and combed a hand through his hair. I looked at him for a moment before starting town the steps of the subway entrance. My brow furrowed once he was behind me. Since when does Sebastian Smythe get nervous?

The sound of shoes quickly stepping against the metal stairs came from behind me, and Sebastian once again appeared by my side seconds later. "Just…how the _hell_ did you get on Broadway, Kurt?"

_Oh_, so _that's_ what he wanted. I turned my head to the side and smirked as I swiped my metro-card.

"I've been trying to figure it out and I just don't understand it. You're a _sophomore _in college. Who the hell hires a barely-trained sophomore?"

I didn't say anything and just continued to grin while Sebastian ranted. He swiped his metro-card as well and followed me to the subway. He's coming with me.

Great.

"_Seriously_, Kurt. Tell me," He continued as I slid into the doors of the subway car. "Did you kill anyone? Did you hold people at gun-point and demand a gig?" I walked over to the other side, where there was an empty row of orange seats and sat down. Sebastian followed, of course.

"I was in the right place at the right time, that's all," I answered coolly. He was silent for a minute or two, obviously drinking in what I had just said.

"You gave Stephen Schwartz a blowjob, didn't you?" he accused.

"OH my god…" I blurted out in surprise, then looked around us to see if anyone was listening to our conversation. A middle aged woman in a business suit gave us a strange look from over her newspaper a few feet away.

"No, no. That doesn't seem like enough. That might have gotten you like…tickets or something but not a job," Sebastian contemplated. "_Oh I know_," he said suddenly, "he fucked you into a mattress."

"Sebastian, _please_ shut up." I slid down in my seat and placed my hand lightly over my eyes.

"That wouldn't be enough either, would it? You guys must have had a _lot _of sex. Jesus, Kurt, I never took you as the type."

"_What the hell is wrong with you_?"

"And he's like…well into his 60's isn't he? That must have been pretty gross. Did he even have any sperm left in his body? His come must have been all watery and gross."

"Who _raised _you?" I asked incredulously. "The man has a _wife _and _two children_."

"No, Kurt, I believe the question is who raised _you_, home-wrecker."

I scoffed in disbelief, got up from my seat and walked over to the other side of the train, opting to stand and hold onto a metal bar instead of sitting next to Sebastian. A minute later he was behind me once more, just standing there, holding onto the bar of the subway. I tried to just forget about his presence and focus on which stop we were on.

"You know, this is starting to get really creepy." I stepped off the subway car and onto the platform.

"And yet I really don't think you're going to do anything about it, considering the fact that you still haven't told me how you got into the show." He followed me up the stairs and back onto the street.

"I just got lucky, Smythe."

"_How_ though? There must be _something_ you did… babysat for someone's kid or some shit like that."

"Nope," I replied, walking up to my apartment building, "now if you'll kindly leave me alone…"

"See, Kurt, _this _is what I want." He pointed to the apartment building in front of me. "I want to be able to afford my own place. I want to not have to go back to a shitty dorm every night after my shift at _Dairy Queen_. It sucks, and you've cheated it and I want to know _how_."

I turned back to him before entering my building, "I already told you, Sebastian, be at the right place at the right time."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later I was walking back out of my apartment with Hector attached to a leash. I had a few errands to run, and I planned on taking my dog through Central Park after that.<p>

"Hummel!" Sebastian called as he ran up to me.

"Holy fuck, Sebastian, just give it a _rest_."

"I refuse, not until you give me a straight answer," he replied, "Nice dog."

I looked at him in response, sending over a very forced smile. "I was at a Starbucks and the producers of Wicked were in front of me in line. I heard then talk about how the needed to find a replacement for one of their monkeys and I happened to have my resume with me."

Sebastian was silent for a moment. "Seriously, Starbucks? That's your advice?"

"I don't know what else to tell you, Sebastian! That's how it happened."

"Bullshit."

I laughed, "Fine, don't believe me, Sebastian."

"It just…_doesn't make any sense_."

"Well that's life, sometimes it doesn't." We had just walked up to the bank, and I needed to go inside. "You owe me a favor."

Sebastian's face scrunched up. "Noooo, I don't believe I owe you anything," he replied.

"Watch the dog for me? The bank doesn't allow pets. It'll take like three minutes."

He tipped his head down slightly and stared at me from under his eyelashes. He wasn't actually saying _no_, so I took it as a yes and handed him the leash.

* * *

><p><strong>Blaine Anderson's Point of View <strong>

_I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, _I chanted to myself from inside my head as I made my way down the street. My shift at Caravaggio, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side, started in ten minutes and I still had to walk about fifteen blocks.

"Well if it isn't Blaine Anderson," a voice said from beside me on the sidewalk. I turned, looking confused, and saw someone who looked like Sebastian Smythe leaning against the wall of a Chase Bank.

Oh god.

"Sebastian?"

"How the hell have you been, Blaine?"

"Oh…I've been alright." I looked back towards the street, about to tell him that I had to be somewhere, but then I saw a puppy out of the corner of my eye. "Is this your dog?" I asked before bending down to pet him. He was absolutely adorable, with soft brown fur and the cutest little face.

"Something like that," Sebastian murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

I cocked my head a little bit at his choice of words, but just shrugged it off as the dog's tail wagged and he licked my hand. "He's beautiful," I commented. "I would have loved to have a dog like you," I gushed. "Would have named you Hector."

"You should come over sometime and see him," Sebastian said suddenly with a sly grin.

"Yeah I…" I stood back up. I mean the dog was awesome…but not cute enough for me to get involved with Sebastian Smythe again. "I'm really late for work."

"Well who knows, maybe we'll run into each other at a bar sometime," Sebastian proclaimed.

"Yeah, anything's possible, right?" I waved a short goodbye as I turned back around and continued down the street.

Maybe I should just take the subway.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hoooooney I'm hooooome!<em>" Cooper yelled as he stepped into the apartment, slamming the door shut with his foot because his hands were full of takeout bags. "And I brought food!"

I was sitting on the floor of our living room, my cheek rested flat against the coffee table and a little bit of drool pooled on the wood next to my mouth. Apparently, I had fallen asleep while working on a new song, and my head shot up quickly when Cooper came in the door.

"Someone's been working hard," Cooper commented as he started taking boxes of Chinese food out of the bag and onto the kitchen counter.

"Or hardly working, I fell asleep." I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?

"Nine-o-clock, and you got a little uh…" he gestured towards the corner of his mouth and I noticed the drool on my cheek, then quickly wiped it away with my sleeve.

I pushed my guitar off of my lap and let myself fall back onto the floor, stretching out my legs and arms. "God, I'm so tired."

Cooper walked into the living room with a box of Pork Lo Mein and chopsticks, sat on the couch and rested his feet on my stomach. "What did you do today?"

I sighed and rubbed at my eyes some more, "Worked a double shift at Caravaggio's and played a gig at this café in SoHo."

Cooper's eyebrows shot up. "SoHo, huh? That's a fancy part of town," he commented, taking a bite of noodles. "You must have gotten a lot of tips."

"I did," I replied happily as I nudged his feet off my tummy. I got up off the ground and went to grab some food. "Also there was this one guy who worked at a recording studio, he gave me his card."

"That's awesome, Blaine!" Cooper enthused.

I smiled and reached for a plate out of the cupboard. "So where've you been?"

"Well, I was helping my buddy Paul move some furniture, but then I met this girl."

"So _naturally_ you stopped helping your buddy Paul move some furniture," I teased.

"Priorities, man," he replied. "But yeah, I was moving this sofa chair and I ended up blocking her door and we talked for a little bit afterwards. And then I asked her if she was hungry, and she said not really, but she could really use some fresh air. Then the next thing I know we're walking through Central Park together."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, it was nice."

"So did you get her number?"

"Yep," he said, then fished a piece of paper out of his wallet and tossed it on the coffee table for me to see. The name 'Jackie' was written on in neat letters above a nine digit telephone number. For a second I wondered if it could be Kurt's friend, but then dismissed the idea. There must be thousands of Jackie's in New York, there's no way that it's the same one.

When I looked back up, Cooper had my legal pad in his hand and was reading over my music.

"Cooper—"

He started reciting the words, his eyebrows bent in concentration. "'All attempts have failed, all my heads are tails. He's got teary eyes, I've got reasons why'," he looked back to me. "So I see you're still thinking about Kurt."

I just stared at him and took a bite of the General Tso's Chicken that was in front of me.

"'I'm losing ground and gaining speed. I've lost myself or most of me'," he continued to read. "'I'm headed for the final precipice'."

Chew. Swallow. Another bite.

"Blaine, you've gotta talk to me about this."

"Talking isn't how I'm going to get over it, Coop. Forgetting about it is how I'm going to get over it."

"Obviously that's not working very well for you," Cooper reasoned, pointing towards the legal pad in his hand. "Look, I know that you've been saying that the 'out of sight, out of mind' philosophy was going to work for you, but I'm worried about you, Blaine. You barely ever smile anymore, unless you land a gig or I break my ass trying to get at least a smirk out of you."

"Oh don't act like you break your ass just for the sake of entertaining me."

"I'm serious, Blaine. You miss him. You want him back."

"I never _had _him."

"Then go get him."

"It's not that easy, Coop. He doesn't feel for me the way I feel for him. He's probably glad that I'm gone…that—that he doesn't have to take care of some annoying _hobo _anymore," I countered.

"Did he say that?"

"I…no, but—"

"Then you don't know it to be true. There had to be something _there _for you to be feeling this way. I know you, you're too smart to let something get to you if it's meant to be completely fake. Blaine, what are you so afraid of?"

I put my plate of food down on the coffee table and rested my head in my hands as I massaged my scalp. "He already said no to me once. I don't think I can handle him rejecting me again."

Cooper got up from his couch and moved into the seat next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Blaine, I'm almost positive that he won't say no to you."

"And what if he does."

"You know what, then _fuck him_, Blaine. There are plenty of fish in the sea that are just as pretty."

I scoffed. Not to me, there aren't.

"Thanks Coop…I…maybe I will. I'm just going to see where fate brings me."

"Well, if fate needs a little push," Cooper suggested as he reached back for his lo mein, "just tell me where he lives and I'll be more than happy to go over there and kidnap is ass."

"How very civil of you," I responded with a smirk, picking up my fork again.

We both sat back on the couch and decided to watch a movie while we ate. Cooper was putting a disc into the DVD player when I considered asking him a question.

"Hey Coop?"

"Yup?"

"That girl that you met today, do you know what she does for a living?"

Cooper looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment before responding. "I think she's a dancer, why?"

* * *

><p><strong>Do you hate Sebastian yet?<strong>

**Thank you to the marvelous SarkyBlueEyes for being my beta and saving me from the pitiful pits of writer's block. That song that Cooper was reading off of Blaine's notebook is called "Yet" and it's by Switchfoot. It'll be featured more in the next chapter (: **

**...and if you want a little spoiler...go listen to the song?...**

**I've kind of fallen in love with what I did with Cooper and Jackie. This next chapter should be fun (:**

**REVIEWWW!**


	16. Chapter 16 Third Wheel

******Yep. It's been a month. I suck. Go ahead and tell me how much I suck.**

* * *

><p><strong>Kurt Hummel's Point of View<strong>

After getting home from Sunday afternoon's show, I immediately changed into sweatpants and decided to start on a paper for my American Theatre History class. I grabbed a blanket and sat down on the couch with my laptop, earnestly writing the beginning paragraphs to an essay on Orson Welles. About fifteen minutes later, someone was knocking very loudly on my door.

I rolled my eyes and slumped my head back, annoyed that someone was interrupting me when I was actually moving through my work at a good pace. Fifteen seconds later I lifted the laptop and blanket off my lap, and got up from the couch to go open the door. The person racked their knuckles against the door again as I made my way across the room.

"Okay, okay! _Jesus_! I'm coming!" I yelled, letting my frustration come out through my voice. As soon as I opened the door, Jackie burst past me and went into the room, jumping around and waving her hands in the air.

"Guess who just got ki-issed," she chanted as she danced around my kitchen and living room. "Guess who's got a da-ate – guess who's probably gonna have a successful relaaaaaationship!"

"Umm," I put my finger up to my lip, pretending to concentrate. "Jennifer Anniston?"

"What the—_no,_ not Jennifer Anniston you haughty bastard," Jackie retorted.

"What? She could use a successful relationship!"

"You're not even…_I have really exciting news here_!" she whimpered.

"Okay then," I laughed, "tell me about him!"

"Oh he's _so _good looking, Kurt. I just—oh my _god _he's like fucking Flynn Rider." Jackie jumped up, her eyes suddenly widening as she remembered something. "He's—he's the guy from those credit commercials!"

I furrowed my brow skeptically. "The one's about checking your credit score? The singing guy?"

"Yes!"

"_Nooooooo_," I denied with an unsure smirk, "you can't be serious."

"Kurt, _why _would I lie about kissing some random commercial star?"

"I don't know, but OH MY GOD," I exclaimed once a picture of him finally came up in my mind. "He's _really _hot."

Jackie nodded enthusiastically. "You know how there's been that empty apartment next to mine for the longest time? Well this guy finally moved in and his _friend_ – aka sexy commercial man – was helping him move and he was blocking my door and," Jackie was speaking really fast, rambling through the story with excited eyes, "and we went for a walk and we exchanged numbers and he called me this morning and asked me if I wanted to go out for lunch today and we went to this café after my show and HE KISSED ME and I'm just so so so happy – hold me!" Then she jumped into my arms as I tried to process everything she had just said.

"That's so great Jackie!" I enthused as I held her close. I could feel her nod against my shoulder.

"I'm just so glad because I hadn't really met anyone in the city so far because all the guys from the show are either gay or already taken and I thought I was just going to be that single quirky dancer girl forever. I hadn't been on a proper date since I was 18." She unwound her arms from around my back and stepped into the living room. "And now hope has been sprung at me in the form of a TV hottie and I…" she stopped, her voice dropping down lower as she realized, "I'm rubbing it in your face, aren't I?"

"No, no you're not rubbing it in my face," I amended. "Although now that you mention it…"

"I'm sorry, I just got excited, I guess."

"Don't worry about it, you're fine." I walked into the room, sat on the couch and picked up my laptop again. "So are you guys a 'thing' now, or…"

"Well, I think it's probably too soon to tell," Jackie responded. "But we're going out for drinks tomorrow night?"

I nodded and raised my eyebrows with approval. Jackie spread herself out on the other couch and grabbed the TV remote.

"Make sure to invite me to the wedding," I joked in a blank tone.

"Don't plant those ideas in my head, Hummel."

* * *

><p><strong>Blaine Anderson's Point of View<strong>

Why the hell did I just get a cat?

Cats are bitchy. Cats are whiny. Cats can't do tricks. Cats are bad listeners. Cats scratch a lot. Cats jump on all your shit. They don't even play fetch. You can't walk a cat. People have to earn a cat's affection. You don't have to earn a _dog's_ affection. You can put a Yorkie in front of Hitler and I'm pretty sure the damn dog would be trying to lick at the dictator's face within ten seconds of entering the room. Cats can't protect your home from burglars, I'm positive they would just watch emotionlessly as people stole your TV's and kitchen appliances. Cats are moody, and possessive, and they _don't like dogs_. What if you're in a bad mood and you need some cheering up? Don't count on a cat to make you feel better.

So why was I finding this little kitten so fucking adorable? He's fluffy and small and compact and cute, he kind of smells and he _peed on me_, but somehow I've seemed to overlook those details

It was 12:30 AM and I really should've been getting sleep, but there was this small animal in my lap and I couldn't stop _petting _it. I'd literally been showering it with snuggles for the past two hours. I had scratches on my arms, a few on my legs, and on my fucking face for Christ's sake. _Why can't I stop touching this thing_?

I had finally decided to put the damn pet down and started heading to bed when the door opened. Cooper, accompanied by a woman in a green dress, stumbled into the apartment, with their mouths attached to each other. They seemed frantic and extremely horny and _god _I really didn't want to stick around any longer. I had almost made it to the bedroom door, when suddenly Pippin (that's what I named the cat) meowed extra loudly.

The meowing seemed to have caught Cooper's attention because he immediately broke the kiss off and looked around the apartment with wide eyes.

"Was that a…_cat_?"

I reached down and picked Pippin up into my arms, before looking up to Cooper.

"Yeah, I um, I got a cat. But don't mind me! We'll just go to my room…" I announced awkwardly before beginning to walk out.

"_Blaine_?" the woman asked uncertainly. "Oh my god, is that you?"

I squinted at the woman next to Cooper, suddenly recognizing her in the dim light of the apartment. "Jackie?"

"You..._you're _Cooper's roommate?" she bemused.

"You two know each other?" Cooper asked excitedly.

"Cooper's my brother, actually," I retorted. Jackie simply stared at me in shock before her expression turned harsh. Cooper didn't seem to notice the tension in the room at all.

"Wow, what a small world!" he exclaimed with a surprised smile. "Where do you know each other from?"

"_You stole my car_," Jackie whispered from under her breath. She began to slowly walk into the room as she said it again, louder the second time. "You…_stole my car_."

"I gave it back? So...I—I _borrowed_ your car."

"Without permission!" she yelled as she got closer, raising her hands for emphasis. Jackie picked up one of the couch pillows and ran towards me, hitting me repeatedly with the furniture accessory.

I cradled Pippin in my arms and turned my back towards Jackie to protect him. "Hey! I'm holding a small animal!"

"You performed grand-theft-auto on my vehicle!" she yelled again, then continued to assault me in the side with the cushion.

"That's what I told him, actually," Cooper commented from the other side of the room. I gave him an unbelieving stare as he continued to casually watch Jackie assault me. She stopped, and turned around to gawk at my brother as well.

"Oh, so you _helped _him?"

"Actually, no, not really. I'm the one who got him to return it," Cooper happily explained.

A small smirk forced its way through Jackie's frown, and she relaxed her shoulders. "I knew I liked you," she admitted quietly.

I began to smile as I watched the couple stare bashfully at each other. Pippin leaped out of my arms and onto the couch, then scurried out of the living room and into the next.

Jackie suddenly turned around and began beating me with the pillow again.

"Will you – stop – that!" I yelled in between hits.

"Why haven't you talked to Kurt, huh?" Jackie yelled and continued to pelt me with the red cushion. "He's – been – miserable! You bastard!"

I was finally able to grip the pillow and quickly rip it out of her hands. "Yeah, I'm sure he's so _miserable_," I mocked, not believing her. "He's probably glad that I'm gone."

"_No_, he's not," she said as she grabbed another pillow and threw it at my face. I ducked. "You're all he ever thinks about. Believe me, I've been pretty much one of the only people he's talked to in the past four months." She somehow kept finding more pillows to throw at me. We really shouldn't have this many pillows. "Why – are – you – being – an – ass?"

"Well this is not how I imagined this night going," Cooper sighed as he gave up and walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "Jackie, here's what I've learned from living with Blaine for most of my life," he said from the other room. Jackie just kept throwing pillows. "When he's rejected, he inherits the self confidence of a turtle."

"I do not!" I defended before ducking again.

"Yes, he does. And he's been hiding in his shell for the past four months."

"Well, just give me a minute," she growled as I caught one of the pillows, then immediately threw it back towards her head. "I might manage to crack the shell in half."

"Cooper!" I cautioned before ducking behind the couch. "Your girlfriend's threatening to kill me!"

"Jackie, play nice," he recommended half-heartedly from the kitchen.

"I'm throwing _pillows_ aren't I?" she quipped. "Just—_go _talk to Kurt!"

Jackie had finally stopped throwing pillows at me, opting to just simply stare into my soul instead. I could feel my eyebrows tilting up as I thought of something to say, and panic bubbled in my chest. I can't just _talk to Kurt_. It isn't that easy. I've been trying so desperately to build a wall and now she's coming in to tear it all down. Talking to him wasn't what I needed. _Forgetting _about him was what I needed.

So as fast as my feet could carry me, I ran to my bedroom. A second after I had locked the door behind me, a thump came from the other side, which I assumed was another one of Jackie's pillows.

"This isn't over, Blaine!" she yelled. "I know where you live!"

How comforting.

I sank myself down against the door and rubbed my face in my hands as I listened to the faint sound of Cooper laughing. Pippin began slowly walking towards me, and nuzzled his head into my leg. I picked him up by the waist, and lifted him up so that his eyes were level with mine.

"What should I do, Pippin?"

The cat simply responded by meowing, and reached his paw out, almost scratching my face again.

"I know," I sighed, and then cradled the animal back into my arms. "Sleep sounds like a good idea to me too."

* * *

><p><strong>Kurt Hummel's Point of View <strong>

"You don't have any plans tonight, right?" Jackie asked as soon as soon as Friday's evening show had ended.

"Do I ever have evening plans, Jackie?" I replied sarcastically.

"Okay, good. We're going on a double date."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Jackie, I appreciate your concern, but blind dates _really _aren't my thing."

"How is it a blind date? I've seen him, and we're practically the same person."

I laughed, "Oh that is _so _very untrue."

"C'mon Hummel, you haven't been out in forever. What else would you be doing tonight?"

"Well, I have this really hot date with my couch and a bowl of cereal…"

"Okay Kurt, no excuses. You're coming with me to SoHo," Jackie demanded as she made her way towards the door.

"_SoHo?_," I yelled as I began to follow her, "I can't afford SoHo, Jackie! _You _can't afford SoHo."

"Don't worry about it, Hummel. Just come," she yelled back, making her way down the street.

"I'M NOT TAKING PART IN A DINE-N-DASH."

An hour later Jackie had called my phone, demanding that I change into something nice and meet her outside my apartment in ten minutes. I then spent the next five minutes arguing with her about how I _always _wear something nice and that I didn't need her hassling to enable me to do so. Once she hung up on me, I went to my closet and picked out a tailored oxford shirt, a dark grey cardigan with a stripe running through it, very dark (very tight) denim skinny jeans, a pair of white and tan Sperry's, and a green frog broach.

Jackie was wearing a purple strapless dress paired with a white cardigan, and white heels. I questioned her over and over again as we rode the subway, desperate to know who my 'blind date' was.

I leaned forward in my seat, my eyes widening in thought as I turned to her. "It's one of the monkeys, isn't it?"

Jackie just continued to smirk.

"Gordon? Is it Gordon?"

"Do you want it to be Gordon?" Jackie asked amusedly.

I sat back and pondered the idea while I looked out at the passing concrete outside the subway windows. Gordon was nice, Puerto Rican, very tall, a little bit eccentric. Well I mean, not that eccentricity is a bad thing, I would probably be considered as eccentric myself but…

Jackie interrupted my thoughts, and I assumed that she had given up on her former question. "Are you excited to meet Cooper?"

"Are _you _excited for _me_ to meet Cooper?" I asked instead. She simply nodded with a cute smile on her face. I grinned at her endearing excitement. "Well, from what I've seen of him, he's very handsome. So if he has a piece-of-shit personality, at least I'll have something nice to look at."

Jackie bumped my shoulder lightly with hers, looking down at her hands. "I'm offended."

I breathed out a chuckle. "Are you?"

"I'm deeply appalled that you think I could ever date someone with a 'piece-of-shit' personality," she reprimanded.

"Yes, well I'm deeply appalled that you won't tell me why we're going on this whole double date thing in the first place."

Jackie leaned her head on my shoulder casually as we sat together. "It'll be good for you," she explained. "You haven't really been out in a while – you know – seen people, communicated at will…"

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that I leave the house _every day _to go to school and to do the show, and…errands and stuff." I defended.

"Oh yes, forced interaction is _ever_ so social," she replied mordantly.

"How is this not forced interaction?" I scoffed.

"Well, it's…under good intentions. And I'm almost positive that somewhere deep inside that well dressed body of yours, you were dying for this opportunity."

"I am eternally grateful, Doctor Phil," I sighed. We both probably knew why she was bringing me on this date. I needed to get over Blaine. It was obnoxiously obvious. She was just trying to help.

Jackie sat up, "Our stop's coming up," she said as she linked her arm in mine. "Come on, big boy."

I furrowed my brow and allowed her to lead me near the subway car doors. "I would very much appreciate it if you never called me that ever again."

* * *

><p>Jackie and I climbed the stairs of the subway entrance and walked onto the street. She explained that the restaurant was a couple of blocks away and that they would be meeting us inside.<p>

"It's an Italian place," she elaborated as we walked up to a small looking restaurant called 'Caravaggio'.

"A fancy Italian place," I mumbled as I looked through the window. "The waiters are wearing suits, Jackie. I better not be paying for dinner."

She simply smiled and walked into the restaurant. The place looked even fancier from the inside and while one side of me was thrilled to be in such a sophisticated establishment, the other side was yelling at me for not wearing something more appropriate. There haven't been too many times in my life where I've been underdressed for an occasion.

"Oh!" Jackie squeaked excitedly, "there he is!" She walked over to a table at one side of the restaurant, where a man wearing a dress shirt and pants was sitting alone. He immediately stood up from his seat as soon as he saw us. Cooper (as I assumed him to be) pulled Jackie into a quick hug, complete with a kiss on her forehead, before turning to me.

"Hi," he greeted with a dashing smile. He brought his hand out to shake mine. "Cooper Anderson, it's nice to meet you."

"Kurt Hummel," I replied with a shy smile, returning his handshake. He really was _very _handsome. Jackie seemed to read my thoughts as she looked at me knowingly. I simply returned the look, giving her a discreet nod of approval as we all sat down. His last name sounded very familiar, but I shrugged it off. Anderson is a pretty popular last name.

"So _you're _Kurt," Cooper said once we all were seated, looking me over. I tensed under his gaze, very perplexed as to why he was so interested. I looked over at Jackie, hoping she would clue me in, or at least showed the same confusion I was feeling. She was just smiling. What the hell?

"Yes?" I answered hesitantly.

Cooper seemed to sense my slight uncertainty, because he chuckled and looked towards Jackie. "I'm not creeping on you or anything, I promise," he amended. "I've just heard…a lot about you."

Okay then?

The table seemed abnormally full for a 'double date' and that's when I noticed that there was no fourth chair.

"So is the other guy…"

"He'll be here soon," Jackie announced. "He's around here somewhere."

I glanced at Cooper, who looked around the room with a hint of nervousness in his features. Something was definitely going on.

"Shouldn't there be another chair?" I asked skeptically. Jackie simply pursed her lips and fiddled with the stem of the empty wine glass in front of her.

Suddenly, Cooper was smiling, looking somewhere in back of me. Then Jackie was too.

"Hello, my name's Blaine, I'll be your server this evening," the familiar voice came from behind me. I stilled immediately, watching as Blaine Anderson came around and started filling Cooper and Jackie's wine glasses with ice water. Blaine was clad in a white tailored shirt complete with a suit jacket and bowtie. I would have giggled at the uniform, of course, if I had had any communication with him in the past four months.

He was either choosing to ignore me, or didn't realize that I was there.

Blaine's eyes seemed to finally land on my face while he was pouring water into my glass. He jumped immediately, almost spilling water everywhere in the process, and then held the pitcher firmly with two hands. He stared at me with slightly wide eyes. I couldn't do anything but stare right back.

Well I guess I found him.

"Cooper can I…" Blaine spoke softly before clearing his throat and prying his eyes away from mine. "Can I talk to you in private…for a sec?"

"What was that, Blaine?" Cooper asked deliberately.

"Privacy," he repeated, looking back at me like he still couldn't believe I was there. "Over there…somewhere…please…now." Cooper smiled as he excused himself from the table and followed Blaine into one of the restaurant's corridors. I watched them until they were out of sight, too shocked to do anything else.

I looked back into my lap for a moment, then at Jackie.

"Sooo…" she murmured.

"_How_?" I asked, my eyes closing briefly in concentration. "_How the hell_ did you find that man?"

"You would be talking about…?"

"Blaine, yes, I'm talking about Blaine."

Jackie smiled.

I'm getting really sick of seeing everyone smile.

"Blaine is Cooper's brother," she clarified with a nod.

I sat back in my chair, processing it all in my mind. It made sense. I mean, Blaine _did _mention that he had an older brother. But he failed to include that said brother was a commercial star.

"So what're you gonna do?" Jackie asked, resting her chin in her hand.

"_What am I gonna do_," I reiterated incredulously. "How the hell would I know what to do? I never _planned _on seeing him ever again. How could I possibly – _Why didn't you tell me_?"

"I just did!"

"No, I mean _before _he almost spilled water all over me and stared into my soul. That doesn't count, Jackie." I almost ran a hand through my hair in aggravation, but stopped myself, wincing when I realized that it would ruin the perfect shape I had it in. "You couldn't give me just a _little _bit of warning?"

"But then it wouldn't be fair."

"How is this fair?"

"Well, we didn't give Blaine any warning either," Jackie mentioned, innocently taking a sip of her glass of water.

A frustrated breath of air pushed through my lungs as I leaned forward and reached for my glass of water, taking a slow sip of the icy liquid. Cooper appeared back at the table a moment later, by himself.

"Sorry about that," he expressed.

"So how is he?" Jackie inquired.

"He's freaking out," Cooper answered with a smile. Seriously, why are these two finding this so humorous?

"_Fantastic_," I commented, my voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

"I can see that Kurt is handling this quite similarly," Cooper noted with a nod. His brother was back a second later.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Blaine said, sounding rehearsed, "but would you like anything other than water to drink?"

"We'll take a bottle of the oldest, finest wine you have," Jackie requested with a delighted grin.

"_I'll definitely need it_," I muttered under my breath. Apparently however, I wasn't quiet enough, because Blaine stared at me for a good five seconds afterwards.

"So the newest and the cheapest wine we have," Blaine concurred to himself as he wrote something down. "Any appetizers?" Cooper was about to speak, but Blaine spoke up before his brother had the chance to answer. "No? My, you guys sure are an easy table. See you in a jiffy!" He said with fake enthusiasm before fleeing our midst.

Cooper and Jackie doubled over in a silent fit of giggles, and I stared at the both of them, slowly starting to realize that I would definitely be their third wheel for the night. Great.

The couple started talking between themselves about the menu in their hands. I looked down at mine, pretending to look at it, but didn't concentrate on it at all. Nervousness settled over me as I shifted in my seat. Images of Blaine a couple of moments ago flashed through my mind. He seemed mad. This was _not _what I wanted my first time talking with Blaine to be like. Not that I had even had anything planned or anything. The fact is, I never had any idea what I would say to Blaine when I saw him again. I guess I wanted to apologize, or force _him _to apologize…or something. Dear god, _anything _but just sitting here and making bitchy sarcastic comments.

"Ooo, Kurt everything's in Italian," Jackie cooed. "It gives me a chance to practice my accent."

"To practice your accent?" I questioned.

"My grandfather lives in Italy, in this huge house on the coast of Sardegna," Cooper said.

"And what does that have to do with Jackie's accent?" I asked skeptically. They both shrugged, looking down at their menus.

I'm not a very good third wheel.

"Polletto ruspante con salsa di limoni, patate e rosmarino…" Jackie practiced to herself. "That sounds really good actually." I looked down at the menu, remembering that I should probably pick something out.

When I looked back up, Blaine was back with a bottle of red wine. He began delicately pouring it into the other's glasses, starting with Jackie. I pursed my lips and looked down at my hands when he got to mine, opting not to watch the view of him reaching in front of me.

"Ready to order yet?" Blaine asked, setting the bottle in the middle of the table. I was about to say something like 'not quite', but Jackie spoke up before I could.

"Yes, please," she said. "Can I have the polletto ruspante con salsa di limoni with patate e rosmarino?" Of course she rolled her 'r's whenever possible.

"How many times did she rehearse that?" Blaine asked to no one in particular, while writing down her order.

"No more than ten," I joked without giving it a second thought. There was really no original intention to say it out loud, and my heart beat a bit faster after I said it. I looked up to see a small smirk on Blaine's face as he continued to focus on the notepad in front of him.

"What was that ravioli that you brought home the other night?" Cooper asked.

"Ravioli ai frutti di mare?" Blaine posed. "It's stuffed with shrimp, scallops, branzino, and halibut."

"Yes," Cooper stated. "I'll have that. It was good cold, I can't imagine how great it'll be hot."

"Maybe you could tell me about it, because you ate it all," Blaine pointed out as he wrote down the order. "You stole it out of the fridge while I wasn't home, actually."

"Well, you stole my car while Kurt wasn't home. What goes around comes around," Jackie asserted with an adulterated smile.

Cooper's mouth twisted into a shocking 'o', and Blaine closed his eyes in embarrassment. Despite the awkwardness, I was finding it rather funny, so I bit my lip in an effort to hold down my grin.

"I can see that I won't be living that down any time soon," Blaine affirmed. It was silent for a couple of seconds, and I took it as my cue to order.

"I'll—"

"I've got you figured out already," Blaine said to me suddenly, reaching out to take back the menus. I looked at him hesitantly while giving mine back, utterly confused. A moment later he was gone.

"Well that was…" Jackie started.

"Odd," Cooper finished.

I shrugged, pursed my lips, and reached out to take a sip of my glass of wine. I still wasn't 21 yet. My birthday wasn't for another couple of weeks. Maybe if things don't go very well tonight I can find a way to get him in trouble for giving alcohol to someone who's underage.

"He's crazy about you, you know," Cooper testified, looking at me seriously.

"I'm not so sure," I muttered, looking back at the door to the kitchen, where Blaine had just disappeared into.

"I am," he reassured.

A flare that I hadn't felt in a long time stirred in my stomach, and I shifted tensely in my seat.

Twenty minutes later, Blaine was back, balancing three plates in his hands. First, he set down Jackie's chicken, then Cooper's ravioli, and finally, a plate of risotto in front of me.

"Risotto mare e monti, funghi e gamberi," Blaine explained to me. "It's um…it's good. Really good."

"Thanks," I managed to say quietly, looking up at him and then down at the plate.

"Enjoy." And he was gone as quick as he came.

The risotto was freaking delicious, and the thought that Blaine had poisoned it quickly erased from my mind as soon as I took a bite. 'Funghi' means mushrooms right? It's not like, Italian for arsenic or anything.

"How's Blaine special order," Jackie asked about ten minutes into the meal.

"It's delicious, actually," I answered, then took another sip of my glass of wine.

Jackie nodded, ate another bite of one of her potatoes and turned to Cooper. "So did he say what time the set starts?"

"Lemme check," Cooper replied as he took out his phone.

"Oh, you guys are gonna go to a show?" I asked.

"_We're _going to go to a show, yes," she answered. "As in the three of us."

I mentally cringed at the idea. "Not that I don't love being in your guys' company, but, there's only so much of third-wheel world that I can handle in one night."

"Nope, you're coming," Jackie insisted.

"Blaine would want you there," Cooper commented.

"Blaine's coming?"

"Well, Blaine will be there yes," he responded.

"It's his show," Jackie explained.

Oh, well. Okay then.

* * *

><p>After we were done, Blaine came by and handed me the bill. I was barely able to make eye contact with him before he disappeared off into the kitchen again.<p>

When I opened the folder to take a look at how much I owed, my eyes rose immediately. The price next to my order had been neatly crossed out, and next it Blaine had written "Already taken care of".

"That pricey?" Jackie asked, noticing my reaction.

"No he…payed for me," I stammered. Cooper motioned to see the check and I gave it to him. He simply shrugged when he saw it.

"It's probably because you let him stay with you for so long, and bought him all those clothes, and those meals. I would be surprised if he didn't pay for you, actually," Cooper advocated.

"I'm perfectly capable of paying for it myself," I muttered.

"And so is he."

* * *

><p>An hour later, Jackie and I were sitting together at a booth in the corner of a bar, while Cooper had gone backstage to talk to Blaine. Apparently this was Blaine's first real <em>gig <em>that wasn't in a café or coffee shop. It was a busy Friday night and Cooper wanted to check on his brother's nerves.

"So whose idea was all of this?" I asked once Cooper had walked away. "Yours or the TV star's?"

"Well, it was my idea to take you to the restaurant, and his idea to take you here afterwards," she explained. "We like to think of ourselves as fate's little helpers."

"You've already nicknamed yourself, classy." I commented.

"But you've got to admit, this is what you wanted. I mean, you've been looking for him for months. The only thing that's different is that Cooper and I are here. I thought you'd be more excited."

"If I'm _anything_, I'm nervous. He didn't look very happy to see me back at the restaurant," I reasoned.

"I'm sure that's him being just as nervous as you are. All you guys need is a little fixing, and then you'll be the best couple since Lucy and Ricky."

"Yes, but that's the thing. _How do you fix this_?"

Jackie leaned her head on my shoulder. "Well, talking to him is a start."

I leaned my head on hers. "Talking to people is stupid. I hate talking to people," I joked in a pouty voice.

"Don't we all."

The lights on the stage turned on, suddenly illuminating Blaine and Cooper, sitting on stools with guitars in their hands. Jackie lifted her head off of my shoulder and began clapping and whooping. I joined politely, putting my hands together for the boys at the other side of the bar.

"Hello everybody, my name's Blaine Anderson. My brother Cooper will be backing me up for the first couple of songs, I hope that's okay."

Jackie whooped again.

Blaine chuckled as he played a couple of practice chords. "Alright, so, I wrote this first song about a week ago, for a certain someone." He didn't say anything more, instead, he counted off silently to Cooper. Soon they were both picking a beautiful melody on the strings of their guitars.

"_All attempts have failed  
>All my heads are tails<br>He's got teary eyes,  
>I've got reasons why.<em>

_I'm losing ground and gaining speed  
>I've lost myself or most of me<br>I'm heading for the final precipice." _

My heart seemed to sink lower as I listened to the sorrowful lyrics. I looked towards Jackie for a little bit of encouragement. She gave me a hesitant smile, her eyes giving away traces of doubt.

"_But you haven't lost me yet  
>No, you haven't lost me yet<br>I'll sing until my heart caves in,  
>No, you haven't lost me yet."<em>

Relief flooded through my body as I held up a loose fist to my mouth. I still had him.

"_These days pass me by  
>I dream with open eyes<br>Nightmares haunt my days  
>Visions blur my nights<em>

_I'm so confused,  
>What's true or false<br>What's fact or fiction after all  
>I feel like I'm an apparition's pet." <em>

I closed my eyes and continued to think to myself. What if he had been feeling everything I'd been feeling for the past four months? Maybe he's been hurting too. Maybe he was just too scared to come and find me.

"_But you haven't lost me yet…" _

The words echoed in my mind again, and for a second I thought it too good to be true. Am I ready for this? What about all the doubt I had that pushed him away in the first place. I still don't even know how much I feel for him. I don't know if he's _the one_. Why go through so much trouble if it would end eventually?

Jackie put a hand on my back and snuggled in close next to me in the booth. I leaned back and accepted her comfort, waiting for what was going to happen next.

"_If it doesn't break…  
>If it doesn't break…<br>If it doesn't break…  
>If it doesn't break your heart it isn't love.<em>"

Then it hit me full force, and tears started to form in my eyes. I opened them again and watched as Blaine sang so _passionately _into the microphone, to the point where if you listen closely, you could hear a crack before every breath.

And he was absolutely right.

"_If it doesn't break your heart, it's not enough  
>It's when you're breaking down, with your insides coming out<br>That's when you find out what your heart is made of  
>And you haven't lost me yet." <em>

I wanted him back. I _needed _him back.

"_No you haven't lost me yet  
>I'll sing until my heart caves in<br>That you haven't lost me yet  
>'Cause you haven't lost me yet." <em>

And it sounded like he would let me have him.

* * *

><p><strong>So does that kind of make up for the fact that I haven't been around lately?<strong>

**Of course, I didn't write the song. It's the song "Yet" by Switchfoot. Awesome awesome awesome song. Also, SarkyBlueEyes is the best beta ever. **

**Review! Let me know what you think of how I made fate work them back together. Also, come say hi to me on tumblr (my url is now darrenswenis). I'm very nice and I love making friends soooooo yeah! Let me know what you think. **

**Once again, I'm sorry for not updating in so long ):**


	17. Chapter 17 Glad You're Back

**This one's just a tad bit shorter than the others, I hope that's alright. **

* * *

><p>Blaine's set lasted for about a half an hour. He played 4 or 5 songs, including the one that he had sung in Lima on Christmas. Cooper only played backup for the first two, and then he got off the stage, letting Blaine do his thing now that the show had started and most of his nerves were gone.<p>

There was still a very decent amount of people in the bar. Most of the tables were filled with customers laughing, talking, and listening to Blaine play.

After Blaine's set was done, Cooper went over to the bar to get us some drinks while Blaine was backstage. He came back with three beers in his hands, and he handed one to Jackie and I before scooting in close to his girlfriend. I slid away from Jackie in the circular booth. It would be kind of weird if the three of us sat hip to hip.

"So what did you guys think of the Anderson brothers' performance?" Cooper inquired with a prideful smile.

"You guys were the _bees knees_," Jackie answered with enthusiasm.

"That is the highest form of compliment, thank you." He nodded and clinked his beer with Jackie's. "And here is the big guy himself!"

Blaine came over to the table with a shy wave and sat down on Cooper's end of the booth. There was a short silence. I wanted to compliment him on his show, really, I did. But my throat went dry and suddenly I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"You sounded really terrific, Blaine! We loved every second of it," Jackie encouraged. Well sheesh, why couldn't I think of that?

"Did you really?" Blaine replied with a smile, and a hint of amusement. He looked towards me. I nodded bashfully and fiddled awkwardly with the beer bottle in my hands. Jackie and Cooper began whispering to each other.

Well I guess all my self confidence has gone to shit.

The next thing I knew, Jackie and Cooper were sliding down in their seats until they were under the table.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Blaine asked, looking at them questionably.

"Well!" Cooper slid out from under the booth and stood next the table, reaching down to help Jackie up. "We were going to ask one of you to slide out of the seat so that we could leave, but we were afraid that you would end up leaving with us."

I looked at them bewilderedly.

"So you crawled under the table, of course. That seems like the most mature option," Blaine said sarcastically.

"I know I definitely remember doing that," I commented, looking back at Blaine thoughtfully, "when I was about five or six."

"They're practically the same age group," Blaine continued sympathetically.

"Aww look, Cooper. They're bonding by making fun of us," Jackie observed in a cutesy voice. "Let's leave them alone so we don't disrupt the love connection." I winced internally as she looped her arm around her boyfriend's and pushed him lightly towards the door.

"Have fun, boys." Cooper let Jackie lead him away. "Be safe!" he called behind his shoulder.

We both looked down uneasily at the table once the couple had left. I seemed to be embarrassed of my choice in friends and Blaine seemed to be embarrassed of his choice in siblings. There was a moment filled with awkward silence as we both tried to think of the best way to start the conversation.

"Never took you as a beer drinker."

"What?" I said, somehow surprised that dialogue was actually starting to happen.

"Beer," Blaine repeated, idly pointing to the bottle on the table. "I didn't think it was your type of drink."

"Oh," I finally understood, and looked down. "No, it's not, actually. Cooper got it for me. I didn't really argue." I hadn't even realized that the bottle was mine.

"Do you mind if I…?" Blaine reached his hand out slightly towards the bottle in question.

"Go ahead."

He slid the glass to his side of the table and lifted it up to his lips, taking a swig out of the slim bottle.

"You had wine at the restaurant, it's only fair," He stated blankly, though I could tell that he was just playing around.

"So this is something that you would need alcohol for?"

"Yes," he replied bluntly. I nodded and leaned back in the seat. There was another silence in between us, and I decided to look down at the hands in my lap. I could still feel Blaine's eyes on me, burning remnants into my features. "So I should probably apologize…"

I lifted my head quickly, eager to hear what he had to say.

"…for taking off so…suddenly." He idly flared his hands when he spoke, from where they rested on the table in front of him. I tilted my head to the side, taking my turn to study him. He took another drink from the bottle of beer.

"Do you regret it?" I asked.

Blaine stared past me for a long moment, his face subtly contorted with concentration. "I don't think I can," he finally answered, his voice soft.

Now I'm confused.

"You don't _think _you can?"

Blaine leaned forward. "I don't regret the emotions that I felt that night," he asserted confidently. "I regret the context, of course, but I don't regret my actions. I don't regret how I chose to feel about what happened."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "So you _don't _regret stealing a car and driving off in the middle of the night with no warning whatsoever?"

"I made a decision, Kurt. Albeit, a risky one, but it was a decision. And considering the fact that it all turned out okay in the end, and no one got hurt, it was pretty successful."

"I think we both know that that's not true," I said quietly, although deep inside I wanted to scream it at him. "Whether they would like to admit it or not, someone was definitely hurt."

"Yeah?" He asked remorsefully, looking into my eyes.

"Yeah." I confirmed softly, looking down at the table. "I—I didn't want you to leave, Blaine."

"Well, that's slightly obvious."

"That's not…you never gave me a _chance_. You just sprung everything on me in front of everyone. How was I supposed to know what you meant? How was I supposed to know what you were feeling?"

"But that's the thing, Kurt. It didn't make sense for you to say no if you really wanted to say yes. We were supposed to make it seem like we _were _in love. The only possible reason you wouldn't have said that you felt the same was if you _genuinely _didn't feel the same. I wasn't able to stay there any longer if everything that I felt inside was simply unrequited. I couldn't put myself through that kind of pain just for a plain business deal."

"So you decided to put me through the pain instead?" I divulged. "You decided to just simply leave all my feelings for shit and run off so that you could guard yours?"

Blaine leaned back in his seat again, looking a bit guilty as he looked down at the table.

"And don't you _dare _act like you thought that what you were feeling was completely one-sided. You _knew _that I felt something for you. Blaine, we cuddled, and kissed, and had freaking _sex_ when no one was around. I know we never talked about what it meant, or why it happened, but there's no possible way that it could have meant _nothing_."

"Then why did you lie, Kurt? Why did you say that you didn't love me?"

"I was scared, okay? I was confused and I didn't understand whether or not there was a double meaning. I closed up." Suddenly all the things I were feeling on New Year's Eve came back, full force. "And you know what? I didn't think I was in love with you. I didn't _know_. You were always so cryptic and everything was always obscure. How was I supposed to know if I was in love with you if I didn't even know whether or not the person I knew was actually the _real _you?"

Blaine seemed to give up, and he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. "Why does this all have to be so complicated?" he whispered.

"We made it complicated."

"We're stupid," he replied with a slight chuckle.

"I know." I let myself smirk back.

Blaine took another sip of beer, and thought for a moment as we both sat in silence. "What happened after I left?" he asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

"Well, my dad found the keys in the mailbox the next morning." Blaine creased his lips tightly between his lips, looking more than a little guilty. "He knew that something was wrong and I told him everything."

Blaine's eyes went wide. "_Everything_?" he asked, fearfully.

I furrowed my brow a little. "Well, yeah, I mean he's my dad. He deserved to know…_OH! _No! Of course not…like…_everything_." I raised my hand to my forehead. "Jesus Christ, he probably would have had a heart attack if I told him every detail."

Blaine seemed to laugh it off and slumped back in the booth.

"So where did you go?" I asked.

"My dad's hotel," Blaine sighed. "Cooper was there. He made me return Jackie's car and then gave me a ride back with him."

I smiled a little. "It's crazy that they found each other."

"Cooper and Jackie?" Blaine confirmed. I nodded. "I know, oh my god. It's kind of creepy how well it all worked out."

"Did it all work out?" I asked quietly, almost sheepishly.

Blaine hesitated, looking down at the table before finishing off the last of the beer bottle. "We should get out of here," he finally said, gesturing towards the door.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll walk you home."

* * *

><p>When Blaine said that he'd walk me home, he <em>literally <em>meant that he'd _walk me home. _We didn't take the subway. We didn't take a cab. We didn't take a bus. We ended up walking over 50 blocks together, talking the whole time. It took about an hour, before I knew it we were only a couple of blocks away from my apartment.

I had asked him what was going on in his life lately, he responded by telling me that he adopted a cat.

"You _what_?"

"Yeah, he's a little guy. He's about the size of a flip-flop. He's adorable…and he scratches." I laughed at that. "I named him Pippin."

Hmm…Pippin. "It's better than Hector," I decided. Blaine simply grinned and subtly shook his head. "This is all kind of terrible ironic because I adopted a chocolate lab about a month ago," I confessed. "Guess what I named him."

Blaine stopped walking. "You did not!" I put my hands in my cardigan's pockets and turned to look at him. "Hector's _real_?" he exclaimed.

I nodded, extremely humored by his enthusiasm.

"You're lying to me," he declared. "I don't believe you."

"He's six months old, his favorite toy is a blue spiked ball and he has hazel eyes."

Blaine beamed, and suddenly started full speed down the street.

"What are you doing?" I yelled, picking up my pace to follow him.

"I gotta see him!" Blaine explained, his voice cracking with anticipation.

Blaine ran for the final couple of blocks. I followed closely behind, half wondering why the hell he was so excited, and half laughing at the adorable enthusiasm.

I finally caught up with Blaine, only to find him waiting for me, and holding the door to my building open. "After you," he said politely, gesturing though the door.

"Ever the gentlemen."

His smile seemed to widen and I lead the way towards the elevator. Blaine's happiness was apparently contagious, because by the time the elevator doors closed, we were both beaming like idiots.

"Well you seem very smiley," he noted as we the elevator moved up.

Well damn it. I've been caught "As do you."

"I'm always smiley," He countered.

"Very true."

By the time we made it to my apartment, I was still grinning. I glanced at Blaine while fitting the key in the door. "Are you ready?" I asked, though I wasn't really sure why.

"Do you think he'll like me?" Blaine asked, suddenly skittish with anxiety. I laughed. Only Blaine would worry about whether or not a puppy liked him.

"Oh, he'll love you." I opened to the door. "_Hector!_" I cooed into the apartment in a high tone. "_C'mere boy!_" Barking sounded from the bedroom, and then the tiny dog came suddenly, scurrying into the room and across the floor, directly to me. "Hello my darling." I quickly put my bag down and picked him up, holding him in my face. "I left you alone for a _while_. Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" The dog simply replied by wagging his tail (and his little butt in the process) and letting his tongue stick out as he panted. "I'll take that as a yes," I murmured.

"_Oh my god, _Kurt, he's gorgeous." Blaine was next to me immediately, reaching his hand out to pet Hector and lightly scratch at his back, all while the dog was in my arms.

"Hector, I'd like you to meet Blaine." I held the dog out towards the slightly shorter man, watching him receive the animal in wonder.

"_Hey _Hector!" Blaine greeted in a cutesy, high pitched voice. He held him up so that their eyes met. "I know you probably don't believe this, but I'm the one who gave you that fantastic name of yours."

As if on cue, the dog surged forward, slathering Blaine's neck and face with a million kisses. "Yep, you were right," I proclaimed sarcastically. "He definitely hates you."

"Ugh, you are so _cute_!" Blaine walked into the living room holding Hector and laughing as the puppy licked at his neck. I watched them for a minute, noticing how Blaine had his eyes completely glued to the dog as he walked around the coffee table and to the couch. I was reminded of the fact that he was very familiar with my apartment, and that he'd stayed here for a week in December. It seemed like forever ago.

"Kurt, I might just have to steal your pet," Blaine said regretfully as he rubbed Hector's belly. I didn't exactly know how to respond, so I simply smiled and sat down on the other couch in the room. I watched as they got acquainted with each other, and my heart swelled with sweetness when I saw Blaine place a loving kiss on the top of Hector's head.

"I think Hector's found a new best friend," I observed. Blaine looked up at me with a satisfied smile. The dog had finally calmed down and snuggled next to his lap, his eyes were starting to drift closed. "Yeah, that is definitely a strong bond."

"I hope so," Blaine commented, looking down at the dog.

I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchenette. "Do you want anything to drink?"

When I turned around, Blaine was getting up carefully from his seat, trying not to disturb Hector. "I would love to, but um, I should really be getting home. I have a gig at this breakfast café near Grand Central and it starts pretty early." He rubbed at the back of his neck as he neared the counter.

I had gotten myself a glass of water, and I took a sip while Blaine stood at the other side of the kitchen. He was lingering, I could tell.

"I'm really proud of you, you know that?" I mentioned quietly.

Blaine's eyes looked up to meet mine, wide with wonder. I could feel my heartbeat start to quicken from his gaze.

"Y—you've come a long way from when I last saw you. Not a lot of people can get back on their feet like that. And the show tonight was amazing." I looked down at the glass for a second. "_You're _amazing," I added quietly.

He kept watching me and eventually I lifted my eyes back up, letting our eyes meet again. "Thank you, Kurt," he replied softly, not breaking the hushed tone that had seemed to fill the apartment. I had missed those looks _so _much, and the need for Blaine to be back in my life was pushed to the front of my mind.

"Can I um…" C'mon, Kurt. You can do this. "Do you think I could possibly get your number? To…you know…so that we could like…keep in touch and all that."

Well that was definitely not as suave as I wanted to be.

"Oh goddamn it," Blaine cursed suddenly, squeezing his eyes shut and lifting a hand to his forehead.

My heart plummeted because…okay then…he definitely does not want to keep in touch.

"I keep on forgetting to get a damn _phone_."

Oh thank Jesus.

I chuckled nervously, watching Blaine pull at his hair a little in frustration.

"I—don't get me wrong Kurt. I would love nothing more than to keep in touch with you I just, _goddamn it _why haven't I bought a cell phone yet?"

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," I reassured, smiling and waving my hand in nonchalance. I'm sure Cooper and Jackie won't let us _not _keep in touch."

"Well yeah, I'm sure, but…" Blaine got up suddenly, walked to my side of the counter and grabbed the notepad that was on the fridge. "We have a landline at our apartment. I mean, I'm never home, but it's something." He quickly wrote down the number and slid the pad towards me. I looked down at it.

"You know…" I picked up the pen and started writing on the end of the notepad. "You can always just call me first." I tore off the end of the paper that had my number on it, and handed it to Blaine.

Blaine looked at the piece of paper, smiling before he looked back up to me. "Okay then." I could tell that he was trying to hide the most obnoxious grin.

"Okay then." I repeated for good measure.

"I should really get going," Blaine said as he looked at the watch on his wrist. I bounced on my heels a bit awkwardly, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly Blaine was reaching his arms out, offering a hug. I smiled and obliged the silent request, leaning in close and reveling in the warm feel of his chest against mine.

"Do you remember when we went out to coffee with your aunts?" Blaine said while his arms were still around me. I pulled back a little, so that he could see the confused look on my face. However, he stayed close and his hands remained at my sides. "When you came up with the story about our first date?"

I laughed a little as the memory came back to me, and hung my head down for a moment. "I said that you had walked me home, and that you asked me out on another date before you kissed me goodnight." My damned cheeks were turning pink at the mention of a kiss.

Blaine looked deep into my eyes as he smiled. "I would love to see you again," he said softly.

"Are you trying to get me to kiss you?" I flirted daringly, lifting an eyebrow as I stared back.

Blaine grinned wider. "I would just really, _really _love to see you again."

"You know, I _had_ told Alice and Molly that it happened outside…" I countered teasingly.

"Oh, so you want me to go with you all the way down the elevator and out on the sidewalk just so I can ask you again?"

"I mean, if we're going for continuity here…"

"…because I _totally _will," he continued with a smile.

"I guess we'll be alright without that little detail," I said with a knowing smile.

Blaine was silent for a moment. "Are we alright?" he asked, slowly turning serious.

"Yeah," I whispered, glancing down at his lips. "We're alright."

The corner of Blaine's mouth tilted upwards and as he slowly leaned forward, allowing me time to change my mind before our lips touched. His kiss was feather light, and I unconsciously pushed myself into him slightly, closing my eyes. The hands on my sides slid up to the small of my back, and I lifted mine to sling lightly around his neck. Even though I was so, _so _scared of what could happen, kissing Blaine felt so _right_. It felt slightly different to me, like I was finally kissing the real him, the real Blaine Anderson. We both let go of the kiss at the same time. Even though it was completely chaste, I couldn't help but feel like I was left entirely vulnerable by it.

"It would be really great," I whispered with my eyes will closed, "if we could take this _really_ slow."

Blaine leaned his forehead against mine. "Yeah?"

I opened my eyes to see that his were still closed as well. "Is that alright?"

"Of course it is." He drew me in close and wrapped his arms around me. I immediately accepted the hug, resting my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes again when I felt him press a kiss into my hair. "I missed you," Blaine whispered.

I smiled as we pulled apart. "I'm glad you'reback." He returned the grin and we made our way towards the door.

"So…slow?" he asked.

"Slow," I confirmed.

"I guess taking you home with me wouldn't exactly mean slow, I assume."

I chuckled a bit. "You assumed correct."

Blaine opened the door, turning around as he stepped into the doorway. "I really do want to see you again soon, you know."

I grinned (for the millionth time in the past ten minutes). "I know."

"When?" he asked.

"Call me."

"I will," he smiled. "Goodnight Kurt."

"Goodnight, Blaine."

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning to the annoying Spice Girls ringtone that Jackie had put on my phone. I reached for my iPhone lazily, opening my eyes just enough to be able to touch the 'answer' button.<p>

"What?" I groaned sleepily.

"OPEN YOUR DOOR KURT."

I let out another annoyed sound and my head fell back onto the pillows. "Not _now_, Jackie."

"Yes, now!" The sound of urgent knocking came from the other room and I rolled my eyes. "I've been knocking for like ten minutes, get your ass over here!"

"You suck _so much_," I complained into the receiver as I reluctantly threw my covers off of me, and then hung up on her. Rubbing my eyes, I made my way out of my bedroom and to the front door.

"Took you long enough!" She said when I opened the door about thirty seconds later. "Your coffee is getting cold!"

I walked away from the doorway and rubbed my eyes as I collapsed down on the couch. "Just because you have caffeine doesn't mean I hate you any less for waking me up."

"But I also have fruit salad!" she said enthusiastically, sitting neatly on the other couch and setting the food on the coffee table.

"Why are you here?" I groaned with my eyes closed.

"To find out how last night went!"

I opened one eye to look at her curiously, and then closed it again. "It went fine."

"Ahhhh!" she squealed. "You're smirking! It was better than 'fine', I can tell!"

"Nope, nope, nope. Just fine…with a side of fulfillment." I could feel my smile spreading throughout my face.

"Spill your secrets, Hummel."

"Spill yours first!" I countered, sitting up to look at Jackie. "What has Blaine said since then?"

"What makes you think that I've seen Blaine?"

"You're dating his brother-slash-roommate."

"Okay fine," she confessed, reaching forward to grab one of the plastic cups filled with fruit salad. "I saw him for a brief moment after he got home."

"_And…_"

"_And…_" she smiled, "…he said that he doesn't kiss and tell."

"Ahh," I decreed, "which explains why you're here, now, with breakfast and coffee."

"Just _tell me what happened_," she begged, complete with little kicky feet.

"Sorry love, I don't kiss and tell."

"You lying _dick_." She took a bite of pineapple. "You texted me everythingwhen you were in Lima. You can't pull that shit with me, darling."

"Well I wasn't aware of the fact that it was a legitimate relationship in Lima, so that doesn't count."

"Oh, legitimate relationship my ass! Those rules _so _do not apply. Just fucking tell me!"

"You curse a lot when you're determined," I observed.

"Hummel!"

"Okay, okay, okay…" I said, with an amused smile.

Jackie was definitely worked up. "Yes, go on!"

"Well…we kissed."

"Yes, I assumed that. Where? When? How? Did you or did you not perform sexual acts afterwards?"

"Wow," I remarked, taking it all in. "Well for starters, it was in the kitchen."

"In the _kitchen_?" She was obviously turned off.

"What? It was nice."

"Yes, I'm sure. Did he wash your dishes too because that would seem—"

"No, he did not wash my dishes, you butt. He just…somehow it happened in the kitchen. I'm not really sure if I'm able to explain it."

"Wait, so, how did you two end up in your apartment?"

"He walked me home."

"Awww, that's so sweet," she exclaimed. "Although it could have been because he couldn't afford cab fare."

"He bought me seafood risotto, Jackie."

"_Exactly._"

"It was _nice_," I remarked. "We got the chance to catch up. And he wanted to see Hector so we came inside."

"Did he tell you about Pippin?"

"His cat, right?"

"Yep."

"Yes, he did."

"Blaine Anderson has another man in his life. You've got some competition."

"Yes, you're right. He has a fucking cat, who cares if he kissed me?" I said sarcastically. Jackie laughed and I sat up to grab my mocha. "You should make him get a cell phone."

"He doesn't have a cell phone yet?" I nodded. "How the hell has he gone four months in the working world without a cell phone?"

"He's an old fashioned guy, he likes talking face-to-face."

"You know who else is an old fashioned guy?" I raised my eyebrows. "My grandpa," she deadpanned. "And even he has a Nokia."

"You're preaching to the wrong choir, Jack." I took a sip from the cardboard cup. "Go tell him yourself."

Jackie crossed her arms. "Maybe I will."

"Well good, I asked you to." I grabbed a fruit cup from the table and speared a melon. As I sat back in the couch, I continued to think about the night before.

"You look very nostalgic right now, "Jackie noticed as she took a sip of her coffee. "What's the smile for?"

"He said he wants to see me again soon."

"Thank god," Jackie laughed. "That saves Cooper and I a lot of money."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, nothing."

* * *

><p>I woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday to my phone ringing. Without looking to see who was calling me, I picked it up.<p>

"Hello?"

"Hi." The slightly familiar voice on the other end said.

"Who is this?"

"It's Blaine."

"Oh," I replied, suddenly waking up faster. "You sound different on the phone."

"Do I?"

I nodded, and then shook my head to myself as I realized that he couldn't see me. "It's two in the morning, dear."

"Yeah, I know, I um…" I could hear the excitement in his voice. I couldn't help but smirk because _who else _would be giddy in this situation.

"I hope this isn't a booty call."

"No, no no!" Blaine defended with a chuckle. "_God, _I just, um…I couldn't sleep, and I was laying in bed thinking about things and I started missing you and I was like _hey _I can call him now and…_wow_ I really did not think this through."

"I'll say."

"So how are you, Kurt?"

"Well, I was sleeping, so I would say that I've been pretty calm."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I woke you up. I didn't think this through _at all. _I'm so inconsiderate, I'm so sorry Kurt."

"Blaine," I smiled, "it's fine. I probably missed you too."

"Probably?"

"It's kind of been a common theme for a while now, so I assume it still applies when I'm sleeping."

Blaine's end of the phone was silent for a moment.

"You still there?"

"Yeah I um…I was just thinking that we should really fix this whole missing each other thing. Soon."

I smiled unbelievably wide and let the tip of my head sink into the pillow. A blush crept on my cheeks. It was incredible that this was happening, especially since I had always doubted it. "That's a really good idea," I managed to squeak out in response.

"Are you free tomorrow morning?"

"Yes," I breathed out immediately. Oh, real smooth, Kurt. "I mean, nothing that comes to mind?"

"Well, I was thinking about it and we actually live pretty close to one another. The only thing in between our apartments is a couple of city blocks and Central Park. Maybe we could meet up there?'

"Sure, I'm always up for a good walk," I answered. "You know, if I don't have any other plans."

"Yes, I almost forgot about your ever demanding popularity." I breathed out a laugh, ducking my head again. "How does ten-thirty sound?"

"Ten-thirty sounds great."

"Meet me at Bow Bridge?"

"I will meet you at Bow Bridge," I confirmed.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"I um…" I blushed again. "Me too."

* * *

><p><strong>Yaaaayyy they're all blushy and flirty again! There probably isn't much left to the story, maybe one or two more chapters after this, and then an epilogue. Thanks so much for all the follows and the reviews and being lovely in general! I really do love you all.<strong>

**Someone from tumblr asked me where my inspiration for Jackie came from, and to be honest, Jackie is me. Aside from the whole blonde skinny dancer thing, we are pretty much the same person. Jackie's opinions are my opinions. Jackie's dialogue is my dialogue. Jackie is me. **

**I haven't completely decided what's going to happen next, and I've been known to steal ideas from many a review. Let me know what you want/how you think this should end! Thanks again for everything! I'm always around on tumblr to hang out and such. **

**Review! **


	18. Chapter 18 Slow

**so i got a job and started contributing to society and then my laptop broke and that's my excuse for being an asshole and not updating since august. even though it's a pretty terrible exuse**

* * *

><p>It was raining Monday morning. I woke up to dim light coming through my blinds, and let out a sigh as I watched the grey clouds from my bed.<p>

"Well, he said ten-thirty," I spoke out loud, to the empty room, eying the clock that said '8:58' on the wall.

Breakfast consisted of Honey-Nut Cheerios before I jumped in the shower. A small smile stayed with me throughout my routine at the thought of who I was supposed to meet that morning…for an actual date.

"_A date,_" I repeated out load to no one in particular, smiling as I wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror.

By the time 10:15 came around I was leaving the apartment with a white umbrella in hand. Even though it was raining, I still thoroughly enjoyed my walk to Central Park. The city is somewhat less noisy when it rains, and everything has a subtle wet dullness to it. The spring weather was starting to come in but there was still a pleasant dry crispness in the air leftover from winter. Nevertheless, my heart was thumping increasingly faster as I got close to the park. '_A date_' my mind still seemed to scream over and over.

Eventually I arrived at Central Park. I noticed that the place was considerably emptier because of the rain, and I walked on the path alone as I headed further into the park. When Bow Bridge came into view, I had to bite the inside of my cheek and look down at the ground in front of me to keep from smiling too hard. Blaine was waiting there, holding a bright red umbrella, and leaning against the railing, right in the middle of the bridge.

"You're early," he noticed, smiling at me as I stepped onto the bridge.

"You're earliest," I retorted. Blaine watched me as I made my way across the bridge, closer to where he was, and he took a few steps in my direction as well.

"Sorry about the rain," Blaine apologized, "I should have checked the weather or something."

"It's not your fault that it's raining," I amended while leaning against the stone railing. "Plus, I kind of like it. It's…peaceful."

Blaine put one hand in his coat pocket, and I took a moment to appreciate his outfit choice. The jacket was a brown leather one that I had bought for him on the way to Ohio, and he paired it nicely with a crimson polo and black denim jeans.

"Nice jacket," I complimented with a smirk.

"Why thank you," he replied with a knowing grin."So far it's rained for all of our dates."

I smirked, thinking back to when I took Blaine out to lunch back in Lima. "No, it didn't rain at Puck's lake house."

"That wasn't a date," Blaine declared with a smile. "That was more like a…gathering."

"Which you were my date for," I smiled, watching as he leaned against the railing beside me, looking out at the water.

"You have a point," he agreed.

I could feel his eyes on me while I continued to look at the view in front of me. After a few seconds I turned my head slightly in his direction, catching his eye right on mine.

"We should walk," I declared silently.

Blaine tilted his head forward, motioning for me to start walking, and I did. A second later he was by my side, and we were walking together off the bridge and onto one of the pathways.

"So on a scale of one to ten, how bad is it that I've gone the past four months without having a phone?" Blaine inquired.

"Twelve," I replied.

* * *

><p>We walked together in Central Park for about a half-an-hour, my white umbrella above my head and Blaine's red umbrella above his. Soon enough, it began to heavily downpour, and we both decided that it was probably best for us to get inside somewhere. Blaine and I exited the park at the nearest entrance, and sure enough, there happened to be an AT&amp;T store directly in front of us.<p>

"We're getting you a phone," I insisted, grabbing his hand as I approached the store.

Blaine broke the grin on his face, opting for a baby pout instead. "But I've been doing so well without one for the past two years."

"Please Blaine," I argued, "talking face-to-face is _so _overrated."

"I prefer hand-written sentiments," Blaine affirmed.

I closed my umbrella once we reached the store, and held the door open for Blaine. "Texting is basically the same thing! They're hand-written and everything, just without all that pesky paper."

* * *

><p>A half-an-hour later we were walking out of the store, and Blaine was the not-so-proud owner of an Apple iPhone. The rain still hadn't subsided by then. Blaine said he knew of a comfortable coffee spot a few blocks north from where we were, and I told him to lead the way. By the time we were a block away, I knew exactly where he was going. Blaine held the door open for me and familiarity filled my gut. Things had been completely and utterly different the last time we were both here at the same time.<p>

"I'll go get in line," Blaine said, pointing this thumb towards the register. "Wanna find somewhere for us to sit?"

I nodded, murmuring out a sweet "Sure!" as I took his umbrella and then went to find a seat. There was an empty set of sofa chairs near the corner, next to the window. I took my jacket off, taking notice of the man modestly strumming a guitar onstage at the other side of the café. A couple of minutes later Blaine was walking towards me with two coffee mugs in his hands, and I pursed my lips.

"Non-fat mocha?" I asked, pointing idly towards the mug he set down in front of me.

Blaine smirked as he sat down across from me. "What else would it be?"

The corner of my mouth twisted into a grin as I reached for the mug, lifting it to my lips so I could breathe in the aroma.

"So what do you think of the venue?" Blaine asked, watching me take a sip from the hot drink.

I swallowed thickly, and set the mug back onto the table. "I've um…been here before, actually."

"Really?" Blaine's eyebrows rose. "That's…ironic. I've spent a lot of time here. In fact I—"

"—played here," I finished the sentence for him. "I know."

Blaine let out a confused laugh. "How…?"

"I…I was here…for that."

"You heard me play?" Blaine asked as the questioning smile on his face started to falter. I looked back down at my mug.

"The original song, yes…"

Blaine's eyes were full of sudden realization as he was trying to think back to the memory.

"I had to leave after that," I continued.

"You _had _to leave?" Blaine asked, his demeanor staying nonchalant but his eyes full of distress. He was taking it the wrong way.

"No—no no I was with someone and we had to go. I was getting coffee with my boss…"

"So you and your boss were…getting coffee." Blaine sat back in his chair, watching me carefully.

"Well, yeah," I confirmed, before realizing. "No! Not like…that. We were talking about the show, he said he wanted to talk about the show. We talked about me being in the show." I was tripping over my words. _God_, this was not the direction I thought this conversation would be going in. "I promise, it's not as weird as it sounds."

"You don't have to prove anything to me, Kurt." Blaine reached out to take a sip of his coffee. "I don't have any…entitlement to you. We're two separate people."

"_Entitlement_," I repeated, narrowing my eyes at his choice of vocabulary.

Blaine hummed in affirmation. "Entitlement."

"That sounds very…legal," I clarified, looking out the window for a moment. So he doesn't think that I'm his at all? Not even a tiny bit? After all this time of waiting, after the other night, after that kiss, after agreeing to take it slow, we're still not attached?

"So what did you think of the song?" Blaine inquired, pulling me from my thoughts.

A few seconds passed by in silence. I took another sip of my coffee, using it as an excuse to thing some more. Maybe if I ignore the question he'll forget that he asked.

"Well?" Blaine asked, the corner of mouth twisting into a smirk.

Damn it.

"I don't know how to answer that!" I sighed with a contemplative smile, leaning against the arm of the chair. "The song was…_you_. It was your emotions, your feelings about us, your angst…"

"So you admit that you know the song was about you," he said with a knowing smirk.

"Well yeah, context clues," I replied, having to bite the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling too hard out of circumstance. God, that smirk was insanely attractive. I watched as Blaine lifted his mug to his lips again.

"There was a man from a record company there that day too," he revealed from behind his coffee.

"Oh my god, Blaine! Did he say anything about you?"

"He said something quick in passing, saying that he 'had his eye on me' and that he wanted to see how I did in a more professional setting. He gave me his card and told me to give him a call if I had an actual gig set up."

I beamed while listening, because I just _knew _that this had to be it. This had to be his break, he deserved it more than anyone I'd ever known before. "That's fantastic, ba—I mean Blaine."

He noticed the slip-up, so I continued the conversation before he could acknowledge it.

"So was he there? At the bar the other night? Did you call him?" I asked in a rush.

Blaine looked down at his mug. "I think so? I mean, I had called him the day before, so I—I hope so. I never really looked for him after the show. I was kind of…distracted."

"By what?" I asked, naively.

"You," he replied simply, wearing the same charming smile from a minute ago. I bowed my head, feeling a heavy blush stain my cheeks as an embarrassed laugh escaped my lips.

"Of course," I said, my airy voice betraying my false confidence. "How could I forget?"

When I looked back up at Blaine, I saw the same adoring smile he had been giving me on the night of New Year's Eve. My stomach twisted and my cheeks moved on their own accord, fashioning themselves into a shy smile.

* * *

><p>"I've never seen your place, you know," I teased as I walked with Blaine down the sidewalk, about a half a block from my apartment building.<p>

Blaine tilted his head slightly sideways, looking back at me from the corner of his eye.

"Someday," he replied.

"Not today?"

"No," he shook his head. "The place is a sty."

I laughed. "Blaine, you're forgetting that I met you when you still smelled like rotten cheese."

"But you didn't _like _me when I smelled like rotten cheese," he clarified.

"Well I had to get to know you better, of course."

"No," Blaine answered plainly with a small laugh. "You liking me and you getting to know me happened at two completely different times."

"Oh really?" I asked with fake inquisitiveness. "Do tell."

"As soon as I shaved and showered your eyes were all over me, and you were a lot nicer, if I do say so myself."

"I thought you were a thirty-year-old man, it was like you had aged backwards. Of course I was curious about what you looked like," I defended.

"Sure, Kurt," Blaine laughed. "You were smitten by the second day and you know it."

"You're such an ass," I breathed, hitting him in the chest with the folded up umbrella in my hand. "I wasn't _smitten_. I was just…fascinated."

"Fascinated with _my ass_."

"Says the man who openly ogled me as soon as we arrived in Ohio," I argued back.

Blaine didn't have an argument, so he laughed, his eyes squinting in a way that forces me to smile with him. "We've arrived," he noted, pointing idly behind me, towards the door to my building. I looked over my shoulder quickly, and then looked back towards him, waiting for something to happen.

"This was fun," I commented as we both continued to smirk at one another.

"It was," he agreed. "We should um…do things again sometime…together."

"_Things_," I repeated daringly, giving him a certain look. Blaine's eyebrows twitched up in surprise, before smiling more widely.

"Slow things," he clarified, even though I could tell he knew that I was joking around. I nodded, and there was a beat before Blaine stepped closer to me, using the hand that wasn't holding anything to rest on my hip.

The sun gleamed from behind his head, somewhere along the skyline that the nearby buildings had created. It gleamed through his hair, sending shades of bright gold and light brown through his otherwise chocolate hair. His face became inches away from mine, and his eyes continued to stare, asking silent permission to continue. I decided to lean forward myself, kissing him gently. Blaine softly moved his lips against mine, and my hand lifted itself up and placed itself near his neck, feeling the curly locks bathed in sunlight.

There was no question about it. It felt right. This was something that was meant to be.

The kiss ended, but Blaine kept himself close to me. His hand stayed on my hip, and my fingers were still playing lightly with his hair.

"Will you go out with me?" I asked, and then took a breath. What is this, high school? "For drinks? Thursday night maybe?"

Blaine leaned his forehead against mine. "It's a date," he said, before leaning back in and kissing me softly. I thought about the word '_date_', smiled against his lips, and then slowly began to giggle.

"What?" Blaine asked, smiling at me, confused as to why I was laughing.

"Nothing," I told him before leaning back in once more.

* * *

><p>"Question," Jackie said while we were getting monkey makeup applied before the Wednesday matinee show.<p>

"Yes?"

"Are you dealing drugs to Blaine?"

"Am I what?" I sputtered, turning to look at Jackie, who didn't look the least bit fazed.

"Are you Blaine's dealer?"

"You're really bad at starting conversations," I said, furrowing my brow at her before looking back into my mirror. "Why the hell would you think something like that?"

"He's been really happy lately," Jackie explained. "Like, suspiciously happy. So tell me, how much ecstasy have you been slipping into his coffee?"

I looked at her through the mirror. "Why would you even entertain the thought tha—"

"He gave me a _hug _the other day, Kurt. _A hug_."

"Oh my god, alert the local authorities."

"I don't need your sarcasm!" Jackie adjusted one of the spikes in the mask on her head. "I have known this man for about a month now and suddenly your presence manages to turn him into some kind of cat-loving, ask-me-about-my-day, freak."

"Oh yeah," I chuckled. "Must be drugs."

"Okay fine, I was kidding about that part but still," Jackie said as she helped me with my mask. "You being around has managed to turn him into a big blob of optimism, and I thought you would like to know."

I smiled at the information. "Well thank you for telling me that he's happy. Next time, don't accuse me of slipping him illegal narcotics."

* * *

><p><span>Thursday, 2:04 PM<span>

**From: Kurt**  
>Are you still up for drinks tonight?<p>

**From: Blaine  
><strong>Well it sure is nice to hear from you during the middle of my shift. How are you doing, Kurt? Yes, I am completely up for drinks tonight. Why, is there a change of plans?

**From: Kurt  
><strong>Nope, I was just making sure. You seem very excited, which is good. I'm glad that you're excited. If you're excited then I'm excited. I'm rambling. I am doing well, Blaine. How are you?

**From: Blaine  
><strong>I was okay ten minutes ago but now that I'm talking to you I am positively fantastic.

**From: Kurt  
><strong>Shucks, Blaine. I'm blushing. You're at work?

**From: Blaine  
><strong>Yes, indeed I am. But my break is going to end in a few minutes. What time should I pick you up tonight?

**From: Kurt  
><strong>You're picking me up?

**From: Blaine  
><strong>Of course.

**From: Kurt  
><strong>Um…okay then. Sure. How about 9:30?

**From: Blaine **  
>Sounds great! I'll see you then!<p>

* * *

><p>"You're taking me <em>here<em>?" I said skeptically, looking at the bright lights that said 'THE AURA'.

"I like to stick to my roots," Blaine replied, smiling at me while he walked backwards towards the club.

"How 'bout we go back to Ohio then," I mumbled, obediently following Blaine towards the entrance. The two of us waited in line for about 5 minutes, ultimately having no trouble getting in. The venue was bright and loud. Music thrummed in my ears as Blaine and I made our way across the dance floor and towards the bar.

"I've never actually been _in_ here," Blaine yelled over the music. "It's nice."

Yeah, that's one way to put it. The dance floor was crowded with people, groups and couples, all dancing to the beat of the heavy bass vibrating through everyone's skin. I had to be careful not to lose Blaine in the sea of bodies as I followed him through the crowd.

"What's your poison?" Blaine asked once we reached the bar.

"A mojito," I answered automatically, before realizing that was the drink that I had started this whole thing. "Actually, no, um…gimme a Paloma," I amended before Blaine could order. I glanced around the room for a moment. "I'm gonna see if I can snag us a table," I yelled, pointing vaguely in the other direction before walking away from the bar.

There was an empty mall, circular tall table near the VIP section of the club, and I walked up to it quickly before it was snagged by anyone else. Leaning against the table, I idly took out my phone, lazily checking to see if I had any new messages.

"Sexting Stephen Schwartz again?" an annoyingly familiar voice said from behind me. I rolled my eyes and turn my head, looking at Sebastian in the eye.

"No, but I'm sure someone else would love to hear about your delusional fantasy." I looked back at my phone, deciding to be as unwelcoming as possible.

"Now now, no need to be coy. I'm sure you jerk off thinking about his wrinkly skin all over you every night."

"Shouldn't you be making cones at Dairy Queen?" I spat back, "or did you finally just give in completely and decide to live off of prostitution money?"

"Well that was a bit of a stretch," Sebastian replied thoughtfully, leaning against the other side of the table. "I don't recall ever having sex for money…well, on multiple occasions."

My face twisted in disgust. "And I don't recall ever jerking off to images of Stephen Schwartz. Now will you please go harass someone else?"

Sebastian stepped closer to me around the table. "I don't think you want me to leave."

"I think you're really bad at drawing conclusions."

"No, I'm good at reading between the lines," Sebastian replied with a stupid, thoughtful smirk.

"No, you're good at being a complete asshole."

"Play nice," he chuckled before taking a sip of the beer in his hands. "Why are you here alone?" He took another half step closer to me so that he didn't have to talk as loud over the music.

"Why the hell do you care?" I questioned. "And for your information, I'm not here alone, thank you very much."

"So where's Stephen?" Sebastian asked, looking around.

I lifted my hand to my forehead, rubbing harshly over my eyebrows.

"Is this him?" Sebastian's voice rang from next to me. I looked up, seeing Blaine had arrived at the table with my drink in one hand and a beer in the other.

"Sebastian?"

Blaine handed me my drink and I immediately took a big gulp, hoping to dull the situation.

"Blaine? Oh my god, wow, I didn't even realize it was you." Sebastian moved even closer to me, lightly wrapping an arm around my waist from behind. I stood still, confused and still annoyed. "I was just going to ask Kurt to dance with me."

"Excuse me?" I sputtered.

"You know Kurt?" Blaine asked, setting his beer down on the table.

I took another gulp, doing my best to empty the small glass.

"Yes, I do know Kurt! He's an old friend of mine." Old friend _my ass_. "You know Kurt too, huh? Small world."

"_Dancing?_" I asked him disbelievingly.

"Dancing, that thing people do with their feet sometimes. Come." Sebastian demanded. The next thing I knew there was a firm pressure on my back, guiding me around the table and towards the crowded dance floor.

"I—" I turned my head around to give Blaine a bewilderedly apologetic look as Sebastian continued to insist that I go with him.

"Go," Blaine suggested with a small smirk. "I'll wait my turn." He took over my former spot at the table, taking a sip from his beer as he watched us walk away.

"Can you _please_," I shouted over the music as Sebastian pulled me into the crowd on the dance floor, "give me one reason why you're doing this."

The dance floor really was filled to the brim with people, forcing Sebastian and I very close together, our chests inches apart.

"I wanted to catch up," Sebastian declared with an idiotic smile.

I looked at him questionably as we both began to move with the beat. "You're drunk aren't you?"

"I'm _slightly _intoxicated…maybe," he confessed before laughing to himself. "But that makes things more fun."

"Yeah, for you maybe."

I began to feel the slight effects of my drink sink in, making me more comfortable with the situation. There was a man behind me, someone who I didn't know. He was dancing with a few other people, but seemed to press against me every so often with the music. The contact didn't seem to bother him, and he was attractive enough that it didn't happen to bother me either. I stayed trapped between the stranger and Sebastian as a bass-filled song blared through the air.

"So let me get this straight," I yelled somewhere near Sebastian's neck. "You're at a club, alone, drunk."

"I'll have you know that I did _not_ come alone. I came with someone…someone who left."

"I can sympathize with that person," I laughed. My gaze drifted around, over the sea of people, and finally landing on where Blaine was still by a table. He was staring intently in my direction, drinking the last of his bottle of beer. I watched as Blaine set the bottle down firmly on the table, and got up, moving towards the crowd.

"Looks like I've upset someone," Sebastian commented with a rude amount of enjoyment behind his voice.

"Mind if I cut in?" Blaine asked, (but not really asked) as he slid between Sebastian and I. Sebastian laughed bitterly.

"Have fun humping each other," he said before turning around to dance with someone else.

I furrowed my brow in slight confusion before shrugging it off and looking at Blaine. He placed his hands on my hips, encouraging me to keep dancing.

"How do you know Sebastian?" Blaine yelled over the music.

"He goes to my school."

There was a beat.

"He's an ass," we both said at the same time. I laughed, letting my head fall forward and rest against Blaine's collarbone for a second.

"How do _you _know him?"

"Sebastian and I went to high school together," he revealed. "We even dated a bit."

I gave Blaine a very unbelieving look.

"Okay, I don't think you can call it dating as much as drunk hookups at Warbler parties," he admitted.

"Well I mean, he _is_ slightly attractive," I admitted.

It was Blaine's turn to give _me_ an unbelieving look. Someplace in the back of my mind it made me smile.

"You like the guy?"

"He's a dick. I kind of despise him."

Blaine smiled and let his arms wrap tighter around my hips, making us closer.

"Good," he spoke into my ear.

I furrowed my brow a little bit and my lips tilted into a smile. "Were you jealous?"

His hands wandered around my back.

"Just dance with me, Kurt."

I smiled brighter, but still obliged his request, shutting up and forgetting about Sebastian. The crowd around us seemed to press in even further. Blaine noticed how the stranger behind me was pressing against my back, so he decided to pull me closer to his body, so that we were practically flushed together. The air was thick, the music was still loud, and I could see sweat starting to form on Blaine's forehead. Everything seemed to be heated. Blaine's cheek would brush against mine every so often, and I lifted an arm to hang around his shoulders while I moved my body. It was like time went by fast, and slowly at the same time. My senses filled with music and sweat, the crowd, and _Blaine_.

A few songs passed by, but I didn't notice. They all seemed to blend together. Good job, DJ.

"Do you want another drink?" I asked him, surprised at how deep my voice sounded through the music.

"Yeah," he answered after a moment. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

><p>The night passed by in a pattern of dance, drink, and dance again, for me and Blaine. We'd dance until everything became fuzzy, and self-set lines became blurred, and until there was too much to touch, and until everything got too hot. That's when one of us would decide that we should maybe get another drink, find a table and talk somewhere. After we had swallowed down our alcohol we would realize that the music was too loud for conversation, and really, <em>why weren't we dancing<em>, and so on.

And that's how the two of us became drunk.

Sometime around midnight, Blaine and I stumbled out of The Aura.

"You're coming with me," Blaine said mischievously, grabbing my hand, even though his arm was already around my waist.

"I hope," I sloppily replied, leaning into him as we walked down the sidewalk. "Hey," I said, a few minutes later, "my building's that-a-way." I pointed behind us.

"We're going to _my _house." Blaine explained, and then screamed 'taxi!' at the street, which was void of traffic for the moment.

"You said—"

"You want to see my house." Blaine looked at me like it was obvious. "Apartment…I want you to see my house apartment."

I didn't argue, instead I simply held on to Blaine's shoulders as he screamed 'taxi!' at the road again. Five minutes later he was actually successful in catching one, and we got in. Blaine recited some street names which I was too drunk to process. I sat back in the seat, watching the red numbers start to go up as the cab driver pulled away from the curb.

"You're so stunning," Blaine whispered from his spot next to me. I stopped looking at the meter, turned my head and caught my eyes right on his. "Have I said that a lot before? Because I feel like I should have."

"Not recently," I breathed.

"I just." Blaine moved closer to me on the seat, and leaned in close, breathing me in. "I want to touch you."

"Why?"

"Because you're stunning." Blaine moved his head forward, letting his lips graze lightly over my neck. "Can I touch you?" he whispered.

My eyes drifted closed as I felt Blaine's breath puff against my neck. I wanted to touch him too.

Entitlement.

"Were you jealous?" I asked suddenly, with my eyes still closed.

"Yes," Blaine replied automatically, while placing very short, barely there kisses on my neck. "Very jealous."

"Why?"

"Because you're stunning."

That seemed to be the only word in Blaine's vocabulary when he was drunk.

"You're stunning too, you know."

I turned my head slightly to look at Blaine, our faces were inches apart. I could feel his breath ghosting over my cheek and my lips. The cab slowed down, and pulled over to the side, stealing Blaine's attention from me. Apparently we had arrived at Blaine's building.

He paid the taxi driver as I got out of the vehicle, and stared up at the building in front of me. It was a pretty normal looking apartment building, but for some reason I seemed to be transfixed with the way the light from the street cascaded onto the structure, and then disappeared into the starless sky.

"Are you coming?"

I hadn't even noticed that Blaine was halfway in the door, and the cab was nowhere to be seen.

"I miss stars," I mumbled as I walked towards him. He laced my fingers with his as we made our way through the lobby and towards the elevator. I stared at our hands.

Blaine started to stare at me again once we were alone in the elevator. His face looked so serious, like he was concentrating on my features. I began to smirk, and then to giggle.

"What?"

"Nothing," I replied, although another chuckle escaped my lips while doing so.

"What is it?" Blaine smiled himself.

"It's you." I moved closer to nudge him with my hip, and ended up just standing close to him because I could. "You're funny."

"I didn't make a joke," he interjected, his smile fading and then his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. For some reason in my drunken haze I felt a little pang of guilt swell up from my stomach, and I avoided his eyes.

"You never pressed the button," I said, and another giggle forced its way up my throat. I moved forward, towards the rows of unlit buttons and turned my head towards Blaine. "You're supposed to press a button."

"Oops."

"What floor?"

"Fifteen," Blaine murmured.

I pressed the number softly, watching as it lit up and looking back to Blaine as the elevator began to move. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against, and moved right in front of me, placing his hands at my sides. Blaine's forehead leaned against mine, and I pushed my head forward slightly, so that my bottom lip grazed his. He pulled back for a moment, and looked deeply into my eyes. It might have been a hallucination, but I swear I could _see_ the darkness of his pupils spill into his gorgeous irises, dilating his eyes and making him look purely famished.

I don't think I knew what was happening until I heard the first sounds of his mouth moving against mine. Blaine was absolutely attacking my lips with his, constantly moving and changing and just trying to be _closer, better, closer_. It took me another moment to realize that I had been kissing back just as aggressively as he was, sucking on his bottom lip and letting my mind move way faster than my mouth ever could.

Blaine began to push me back and I let out a small whimper into his mouth because _oh_, the elevator doors are open. Somehow we made our way down the hall, and I was eventually pushed up against a door that I assumed to be his.

I began to mouth at his jaw while he tried to unlock his door. By the time he finally the got door open, there was a decent sized bruise planted on his neck. We turned around in the doorway, and he pulled me through the apartment, never letting his mouth leave mine. Once we arrived at his bedroom, I cradled Blaine's face in my hands and Blaine grabbed my ass, shoving me against the door. He moved his lips down towards my neck, mouthing at the crook there.

I stared at the ceiling, breathing incredibly heavily as I felt his mouth move against my skin. Somehow, one sober thought was able to compel itself through my drunken lust, and seep into my consciousness.

"Slow," I whispered through my panting. "I—we…slow…"

Blaine stopped biting at my neck, and took a small step back from me, straightening himself and looking me in the eye.

"Slow?" I repeated.

Blaine moved forward unhurriedly, and captured my lips in his so sweetly, and so leisurely, it was like time stood still. His hands wound around my back, and pulled me lightly off the door, into the room. My breathing began to slow, and I could feel my adrenaline dissolve into his lips.

Our lips broke away when we reached the bed. Blaine grabbed my hand, and led me on top of the bed with him. He kissed me again, even sweeter, and more deliberate than before. We hugged each other as we laid there, calming ourselves and each other down.

"Slow," Blaine confirmed, before placing one last peck on my lips. Our heads were on the same pillow, and he smiled at me, lifting his hand to entwine with mine.

"Slow."

We fell asleep to the sound of our slowing heartbeats.

* * *

><p><strong>so, the next chapter will be the last. i'm also thinking about making an epilogue as well...<strong>

**thanks to sarkyblueeyes for beta-ing for me and being so super nice and sticking with me for so long!  
><strong>

**sorry again for taking such a fucking long time.  
><strong>

**come talk to me on tumblr! my url is darrenswenis and sometimes i post drabbles on there too!  
><strong>

**REVIEW! this chapter took so much energy from me. i wanna know what you thought!  
><strong>

**love,  
><strong>

**sarah.  
><strong>


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